Zamba’s Day of Reckoning: After Weeks of Delays, PAC Showdown Finally Looms

After weeks of delays, excuses, and what critics have branded as calculated evasions, former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba is finally set to face the music.

Zamba is expected to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Tuesday next week—an appearance that now carries the weight of a long-overdue accountability moment in the explosive inquiry into the controversial purchase of Amaryllis Hotel by the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF).

For weeks, her absence has cast a long and uncomfortable shadow over the proceedings. Initially slated to appear earlier, Zamba failed to show up, citing commitments outside the country. But the repeated postponements have only intensified public suspicion and frustration, with many questioning whether the delays were mere coincidence—or a deliberate attempt to outlast scrutiny.

Now, that window appears firmly shut.

PAC has pressed ahead regardless, tightening the noose of inquiry with a series of high-stakes engagements. Proceedings resumed on Tuesday, April 21, with the committee grilling former Registrar of Financial Institutions Dr. Mafuta Mwale, before turning its attention to officials from the National Bank of Malawi on April 22 and 23. Each session has added new layers of complexity—and urgency—to a case that has gripped the nation.

The roadmap ahead is equally telling. The board of Yusuf and Investment Limited is scheduled to appear on April 29, followed by the Chief Secretary to the Government on May 4. The committee will then conduct a physical inspection of the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre—an on-site visit that could prove pivotal in verifying claims and exposing discrepancies—before retreating to deliberate and adopt its final report.

But make no mistake: Zamba’s appearance is the centerpiece.

Her testimony is expected to confront lingering questions, close critical gaps, and possibly unravel the chain of decisions behind a deal that has sparked widespread concern over transparency, fiduciary responsibility, and the safeguarding of public pension funds.

PAC’s failure to table its report in the last parliamentary sitting—largely due to the absence of key witnesses like Zamba—has only raised the stakes. There is now growing pressure on the committee to deliver not just a report, but answers. Real answers.

Tuesday, therefore, is no ordinary hearing.

It is a reckoning.

After weeks of delay tactics and procedural dilly-dallying, the moment of truth has arrived. Whether Zamba will provide clarity or deepen the controversy remains to be seen—but one thing is certain: the spotlight will be unforgiving, and the nation will be watching closely.