Mapeto Tyres is at the centre of a deepening procurement scandal at the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, where a K8 billion tyres deal is now under investigation for alleged procedural breaches, excessive procurement, and possible systemic manipulation of public contracting rules.
What began as a standard tender has exposed serious contradictions at the heart of ESCOM's procurement system. Issued on April 17, 2025 under National Competitive Bidding, the tender was supposed to result in a framework agreement--an arrangement typically designed to engage multiple suppliers over time. Instead, the entire contract was awarded to a single company, Mapeto Tyres, raising immediate concern about how a competitive process produced a monopoly outcome.
Internal sources say the problem is not just how the contract was awarded, but what was actually procured. "The quantity of tyres purchased exceeds operational needs, with some expected to expire before being used," said one source within ESCOM, pointing to what appears to be a costly mismatch between procurement decisions and real operational demand.
The sequence of events has only deepened suspicion. The tender closed on May 15, 2025, followed by an offer letter to Mapeto Tyres on August 4. By late August or early September, the contract had been signed, and a Local Purchasing Order issued soon after. While this progression appears orderly on paper, investigators are now questioning whether the speed and certainty of the process masked a predetermined outcome.
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The fallout has already claimed one high-profile casualty. ESCOM Director of Finance Brian Ndisale has been suspended, with the utility confirming the move but offering limited detail. "All I can confirm is that the CEO moved swiftly to effect the suspension to pave the way for investigations," said ESCOM spokesperson Pilirani Phiri.
Newly appointed CEO William Kaipa is said to have taken the decision to prevent interference with ongoing inquiries, but the scale of the transaction has raised broader concerns about institutional accountability. Procurement decisions of this magnitude typically involve multiple layers of approval, prompting questions about who else may have been involved and why internal safeguards failed.
Mapeto Tyres has defended its role, insisting it followed due process from start to finish. In a written response, operations manager Kabir Ishmail said: "We participated in a formal, open and competitive tender process in line with the procurement procedures. The process was transparent and we were awarded the contract after meeting all the required criteria."
He added that the company has not yet been paid and is unaware of the circumstances that led to the suspension of ESCOM's finance chief, stressing that Mapeto Tyres "adhered to all required procedures throughout the procurement and supply process."
But while the supplier insists on compliance, the focus of the investigation is shifting toward the structure and execution of the procurement itself. A framework agreement, by design, is meant to prevent over-reliance on a single supplier and allow flexible, need-based purchasing. In this case, it appears to have achieved the opposite--locking ESCOM into a massive, front-loaded commitment with one provider, despite indications that the quantities involved may far exceed actual requirements.
This latest scandal adds to a growing list of procurement controversies at ESCOM. In 2022, the utility faced scrutiny over a K14 billion misprocurement case, while an earlier K26 million envelope deal--reportedly for items worth only K3 million--became a symbol of excess, with supplies said to be enough to last more than two decades. The K8 billion tyres deal now appears to follow a similar pattern, where inflated procurement decisions raise serious questions about value for money and oversight.
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So far, ESCOM's response has been limited to suspensions, internal investigations, and administrative adjustments. CEO Kaipa has issued directives aimed at improving efficiency, including ordering the return of hired vehicles, but critics argue these measures fall short of addressing the deeper structural issues exposed by the scandal.
At its core, the issue is no longer just about whether procedures were followed on paper, but whether those procedures were applied in a way that genuinely protected public resources. As one insider bluntly put it, "This is not just a procurement issue--it's a planning failure and a control failure."
With billions of kwacha at stake and public confidence already strained, the Mapeto Tyres deal is fast becoming a defining test of accountability at ESCOM. Whether the ongoing investigations will expose the full extent of what went wrong--or simply contain the fallout--remains to be seen.
