Chikuni removed as CEO of Lilongwe Water Board: Sawa contract, Khato loan bill concerns
Government has shaken up Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) by removing theparastatal chief executive officer (CEO) Alfonso Chikuni amidst concerns of alleged corrupt pracises in procurement of services including the way the board intends to award contract to Sawa Group including huge debts it cannot pay.
In a letter seen by Nyasa Times dated December 9 2019, Chiegf Secretary to Government Lloyd Muhara informed Chikuni that he has been seconded to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation andWater Development.
Muhara said Chikuni has been redeployed to mainstream civil servce to serve as chief director responsible for Irrigation and Water Development Grade C in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development.
The secondment, according to the letter, is “with immediate effect.”
“Under the terms of the secondment, Lilongwe Water Board, as your employer, will continue paying your salary and other benefits that you are entitled to and, on a quarterly basis, the Malawi government will be reimbursing to Lilongwe Water Board the salary and benefit payable to you during the period of secondment,” reads Muhara’s letter.
The development comes after LWB came under intense fire from members of the parliamentary committee on Natural Resources over a $17 million (about K12.5 billion) loan for the Lilongwe-Salima Water Project, the board took.
The parastatal, whose monthly turnover is K2.3 billion, could not afford the $17 million loan but the approval was made by former Finance minister Goodall Gondwe.
“The loan was taken following instructions from Treasury,” Chikuni said.
LWB obtained from National Bank of Malawi (NBM) to meet some preparatory works for the K400 billion water project awarded to South Africa-based engineering firm Khato Civils, requiring it to pay NBM close to K600 million monthly.
In an earlier interview, Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale said the Office of the President and Cabinet have lunched talks with Khato Civils over the future of the mega water project.
This comes after the contractor sued the government demanding K56.2 billion in damages for the preparatory work it did on th project.
Spokesperson for the ministry of Finance Davis Saddo earlier said the future of the project is waiting for the outcome of discussions between the government and the contractor.
Meanwhile, LWB is also riddiled with controversy over the way it intends to award contract to Sawa Group over three Malawian owned companises – GIMM Water, Fisd and Master Drillers.
Sawa is said to be in a cartel of politically-connected people winning contracts through alleged corruption.
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Mr Chikuni is a victim of Politics, he was a visionary CEO. The Salima Lilongwe Water project was highly politicised, sabotaged and attacked by both opposition and ruling politicians because they did not benefit anything from that.Lilongwe as a City ha been suffering from Water shortage and that Mega project was meant to meet the needs of Lilongwe as a growing City for the next coming 100 years. The problem in Malawi is that we are a highly volatile Politically infested Nation that we even kill the cow that supply us with Milk for political gain and Jealous. Khatho being… Read more »
Having worked under this man in his two terms at LWB, I can confidently say that LWB will miss the visionary leadership, innovative ideas, progressive thinking and performance and achievement focused way of doing work. He was not perfect, no! But he wasn’t afraid to rock the boat to keep it moving, think outisde the box and create a high standard work environment & culture not common in te Malawi public sector. H will be sorely missed
FISD is failing to roll out a gravity fed system in Phalombe. How can they be trusted with a huge Lilongwe Project. Zinazitu amalawi mmanyanya.
Chikuni was most likely standing in the way of even more corruption by politicians hence the reason for his removal. APM and Muhara do not fight against corruption, they facilitate or look the other way.
Alfonso kuba anayamba kuba kalekale ali president wa Poly Students Union. Anaba fridge yopangila ma party and he hasnt stopped since.
Kkkkk
That’s daft because it’s not even about stealing
Read properly
No water days are coming and it will start with your area
Sad he is out of lwb
Sawa,sawa ,we better remember the name it was called, pano ndi sawa,muli wa Ku Balaka
The next CEO will have an uphill task to put the house in order.
Let ACB vindicate him of wrong doing.
he would have been fired some five years ago.
This CEO has made the government lose substantial amount of money through poorly handled contracts and the government will lose more through court cases.
You kept applauding him when he was building his 4 storey house in area 47.
He fired his procurement specialist and several other members of staff who stood his way on the Khato Contract.
The man is Evil. a swindler , a fraudster
Let him rot at the Ministry
My friend BWL, This guy will not rot at the ministry. The post of chief director is very senior. It comes after PS. This why Malawi is not developing, when people fail to perfom at parastatals they are posted to ministries. This is not solving a a problem but rather transferring one from one area to another. Govt has also done the same thing with ADMARC. Non perfomers should be fired once and for all.
Shut up… where would Lilongwe water board be without this man??? All those awards he won please niqqa ummm which other ceo has won an award if I may ask??? Or how many or better yet how many awards have you won? 😂😂😂😂 I thought so
And what’s your issue here shut the fuck up you don’t know what you are talking about
You are only mad because you don’t have what he has….plus who are you even????? And how much do you even make??? People like you are the only reason Malawi will never develop…go and make six figures and then start to comment…take it or leave it…Lilongwe water board wouldn’t be where it is if not for him…he only fired those who are not capable of doing there jobs… you are the evil one and the fraudster go and get a life…go make money and stop saying stuff you know nothing about….
Eeeegh I think munadya naye bwino Chikuniyo. Or is it your relative? You need water close by mungakomoke.
Oh it’s a 4 storey house really?😂😂😂😂 bitch get outta here… go and make money it is people like you that Malawi will remain poor ….go make money and get your facts right before you start making noise here…stupid
Asante, your ranting and TV based ebonics or whatever version of urban English are devoid of facts. Tell us why you think he was a good CEO in a straight reasonable fashion because he has a reputation of being severely corrupt even stemming from his own staff at the Waterboard….
Not everything is about jealousy, we were raising eyebrows about Mayor Bikoko and there were are. Sooner or later Chikuni will be audited, assets ought to match declared income.
Savimbisankara can you prove he is corrupt? And what was he involved in??? Do you even know how long this man has worked for water board????? Or because you read things on the internet you automatically believe? He has improved a lot of things and I haven’t heard of Blantyre ceo or mzuzu ceo winning any award in any country for the work they are doing….and if he was so corrupt why not fire him and invest him but al you do is give him another job???? The mentality in Malawi is sick you guys believe everything you see or… Read more »
Oh I get it Enanu ndinu some bitter fired employees….so because he fired people that weren’t doing their jobs that makes him corrupt? Why the fuck would the government give someone a job if he was corrupt? Y’all messy asf….if you are an employee that got fired then mwanya you deserved that shit no manager would have lazy fools working under them….before you reply to my comments come with facts
Please don’t say things you know nothing about
You Asante you are a piece of shit am happy you are Swahili Than a malwawian man get the hell out of Malawi, magufuli will burn pipo like you! Stupid idiot
Fuck off Taonga who are you even???? It’s people like you that Malawi will remain poor fuck outta here….where do you even get park? How much money do you even make ?????? Let’s be serious….wait hold up!!! So because my name is Asante I am Swahili???😂😂😂😂😂 uneducated fool…oh I get it because your name is Taonga that automatically makes you Malawian….if you must know I am Malawian….fuck off why are you bitter??? He fired you as well?
That’s the problem with people like you Taonga…you are out here getting mad when people start getting money and can’t wait for them to fall but funny thing is that he is still getting the bag and still making money so jokes on you because when God says it’s your time baby nobody can say no …he now has a new job still getting paid not much that I can say about you because guess what??? Nobody knows you and nobody will ever know you or the work you are doing because you are nobody so whoever is mad you… Read more »
and Asante don’t defend people you don’t know much about. the fact that you share(d) a bed does not mean that you know what this guy does when he is in his office.
find out:
how many female guards he has bonked at LWB
How many female cleaners he has bonked at LWB
That Accounts Clerk he was bonking
The women he was sleeping with during day time at lingadzi inn and soul farm
am sure you are one of them!
Eeeee now u are crossing the line BWL I don’t understand why you are so bitter it seems you are so keen on the employment of other people but it’s like you were fired or one of those people that we’re doing a bad job And just because I am commenting and all that doesn’t mean I slept with him I mean what the fuck that’s all you can think of? Are you that daft? So what if he slept with those people how is that your business? Your issue with him seems way more personal to me and If… Read more »
Matter fact BWL I need your details immediately because you have insulted me and Because of that it tells me how much u lack respect and especially the fact that u are talking about me sharing a bed with him shows me that you never investigated him properly so after knowing all the shit you know about him you don’t know who I am😂😂😂😂😂😂 you son of a bitch…it is you ur mother and your father that sleep around with cleaners and guards…..aaaa you sound like something that was rejected…or he didn’t give you enough money? Fuck outta here with… Read more »
BWL did he bonk your wife? Or sister? Or maybe he stole your girlfriend 😂😂😂😂 aaa sorry my friend that’s part of life…and before you go embarrass yourself out there with these lame ass excuses the issue here is about corrupt practices n as you can see the title isn’t “ all those that lost jobs and girlfriends during ceo Chikuni come and gather here” so take that rubbish to the dogs…
Mr BWL the topic hear is corruption I don’t see any place where the said “all those that got fired or lost their girlfriends and wives during ceo chukuni gather here” it is because of stupid brainless people like you that Malawi will never go anywhere ….how stupid can someone be??? If he was sleeping with your wife or girlfriend take it to court this is surely not the place for that…bastard!!!!
It is you and your whole generation that will rot
Mmmm jealous !!!
Hahaha which staff did he fire that stiod in his way!!? Hahaha lemme tell you, the procurement specialist who was here b4 resigned, the other procurement officer was a junior but was caught red handed trying to divert a truckload of pipes, this guy was arrested and convicted by the courts. No senior officers have been fired in Chikuni’s term…..isi mukukamba inuzi mmm kaya mukutenga kuti kaya! I cannot vouch for his corruption record, but show me a man in Malawis public service who has not in any way unduly benefited from his position! Atleast Chikuni also developed LWB, pano… Read more »
Khato wanuyo mumumva. He has already started taking you to court? Simunati. I know, because of this comment, someone will say that as Malawians we do not support fellow Malawians in business. Believe you me – a simple search on the internet with terms “Limpopo Water Project Khato Civils” (or a variation thereof) will be very telling about the said contractor. There have been billions of tax payers’ money (believe you me, I am one of those heavily taxed individuals just like most of you guys) spent on the Limpopo water project this side of town and the poor villagers… Read more »
No patriotism in Malawi people think about themselves. I agree as a country we have lost trillions of Kwachas thru these court settlements on contracts not honoured. Looks like people do these things deliberately because they know they will benefit in the end. Sad and painful for the tax payer like you and me.
🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭