Parastatal boards appointments withheld over DPP power struggle

A good number of statutory corporations are running without boards despite the appointment of the same being announced by Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC)  three months go in a move linked to internal succession battles with the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Nyasa Times sources at OPC says Chief Secretary to Government Lloyd Muhara gave instructions to Statutory Corporation not to write any letters of appointment to the newly  appointed board members until” further notice”without giving specific reasons.

Sources said there was alot of politics going around which led to the halting of the appointment which saw a number of members of the DPP  being appointed into the boards for various parastatals.

It appears after scrutinising names it was discovered that most of the names that were appointed were supporters of a perceived presidential aspirant who is busy putting his own people in strategic positions in the party,” said the source.

Nyasa Times investigations have revealed that owing to the succession battles some interested parties tipped President Mutharika that one powerful politicial in DPP was using the the appointments to his advantage and this forced him to withdraw the appointment.

The decision has caused alot of tension in the DPP and could be a source of a big conflict.      Several Chief Executive Officers of the statutory corporations confirmed to Nyasa Times that they are receiving calls from the appointed board members asking why they are not been invited to meetings despite being appointed.

Some of the parastatals that are operating without involving board members include Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) and University of Malawi (Unima) Council., Lilongwe Water Board (LWB), Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC), Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA), Central Region Water Board (CRWB), National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) and Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb).

President’s appointment included individuals of diverse backgrounds such as members of legal fraternity, academia, business, civil society, politicians, clergy and traditional leaders.

Mutharika is serving his last term after winning the contested 2019 elections.

Several names including that of Kondwani Nankhumwa, Minister of Agriculture and Water Irrigation, Ben Phiri of Local Government, Minister of Justice, Bright Msaka and Vice-president Chimulirenji are emerging as possible successors.