Critics have come out swinging against government's newly announced parastatal boards, describing the appointments as chaotic, opaque and--in some cases--legally questionable.
The loudest concern centres on the bizarre decision to reconstitute the National Planning Commission (NPC) board barely a year into its five-year mandate. Governance experts and legal minds are questioning why the OPC tore up a legally-intact board confirmed by Parliament in November 2023 and replaced it with a fresh team chaired by business mogul Thom Mpinganjira.
If the NPC Act of 2017 is followed, the tenure of commissioners--Richard Mkandawire, Phillip Madinga, Mercy Masoo, Natasha Nsamala and Betty Chinyamunyamu--runs until 2028. Yet government has offered no explanation for removing them, and Chief Secretary Justin Saidi's statement announcing the new boards was silent on the legality of the move. Attorney General Frank Mbeta could not give clarity either, saying he needed more time to "get the details".
Compounding the confusion, the list of 66 new boards released Tuesday night shows individuals holding multiple chairmanships--raising old questions about cronyism, overstretching and the exclusion of new talent. FDH Bank plc managing director Noel Mkulichi has been handed two powerful chairmanships--Roads Fund Administration and the Malawi University of Science and Technology--while lawyer Luciano Meckeus also appears twice.
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The decisions have also raised eyebrows inside public universities, where staff members have been appointed to serve on their own councils--creating potential conflicts of interest. At MUST, executive dean Atikonda Mtenje-Mkochi joins the council, while at Mzuzu University, senior lecturer Precious Madula will sit alongside Vice-Chancellor Professor Wales Singini.
Corporate governance expert Jimmy Lipunga attempted a more cautious interpretation, describing the appointees as capable professionals but admitting that dual appointments and internal university placements raise governance concerns only the appointing authority can justify.
But the harshest assessment came from the Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency (Csat). Executive director Willy Kambwandila blasted the appointments as "a setback to public sector reforms," arguing that the opaque process and recycling of the same faces undermine trust in government's reform agenda.
Meanwhile, confusion deepened further when it emerged that the list includes Malawi Railways Limited--an entity many understood to have been privatised in the early 2000s. Mbeta defended its inclusion, arguing it remains a government-owned "special purpose vehicle" that collects concession fees from private operators. Still, the unexplained contradictions and half-answers have only fuelled public skepticism.
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As frustration mounts, top government officials--including Saidi, his deputy Stuart Ligomeka and Minister of Information Shadric Namalomba--remained unreachable, with repeated calls going unanswered.
