As the country is still failing to come to terms with the surprise renewal of the contract for the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) Chief Executive Officer Henry Kachaje, the decision has left almost all staff at the entity more shocked than any other.
Staff at the institution feel betrayed by the MERA board of directors that approved Kachaje’s contract indicating the organization is in its lowest state because of lack of leadership skills and poor decision making by its Chief Executive Officer.
Staff speaking on condition of anonymity at the institution speak of total maladministration that has led to MERA losing money and registering losses in the process.
Staff have told this reporter that money remitted to MERA from ESCOM in form of levies that were supposed to be channeled towards MAREP have all been squandered.
It is further alleged that Kachaje is involved on daily basis in as far as procurement issues are concerned and to make matters worse, prices are always inflated and the CEO gets hefty bribes from such business transactions.
In a clear conflict of interest scenario, Henry Kachaje in his capacity as CEO is reported to have given a business contract for Cleaning and Security Services to his partners without declaring as is required by law.
The staff have since asked the corrupt busting body, the Anti-Corruption Bureau to quickly move in and probe this matter before all the evidence is destroyed.
As the energy regulator fails to stay afloat due to alleged mismanagement under Henry Kachaje, the organisation is reported to be paying all its staff salaries from bank overdrafts for months on end now.
The staff say that this wasn’t the he case in the past when the organisation was very liquid.
Meanwhile, as MERA continues to struggle financially, one of the country’s leading motor vehicle companies Toyota Malawi has struck off MERA from a list of clients that have their vehicles serviced.
This is as a result of huge amounts that MERA owes Toyota Malawi and the company has had enough of excuses from MERA and they have told them they can no longer be entertained to have their vehicles serviced without clearing the huge millions that are supposed to be paid to Toyota Malawi.
Further to this, MERA is also failing to pay Mk 60 million to a former member of staff who successor sued the organisation for some unfair dismissal.
The former officer, a Mr Lipita who was MERA’s Human Resources Manager was granted this compensation by the courts after successful litigation by the former employer is failing to pay the money.
With all this litany of financial mismanagement and other maladministration issues, members of staff at MERA have been left mouth agape as to how the board of directors decided to renew a contract of such a Chief Executive Officer for another three years.
His previous three years was marred in controversy as he was made to continue staying in the position using political connections as he didn’t have the right academic qualifications for the job.
The Office of the Ombudsman in Malawi announced that Henry Kachaje’s recruitment was illegal and that he shouldn’t have been given the job after all. The Ombudsman recommended Kachaje’s removal from the job but he continues to be protected.
The Malawi National Assembly through its Public Appointments Committee expressed shock at the renewal of Henry Kachaje’s contract saying it showed impunity on the part of the appointing authority.
Before his appointment as CEO of MERA, Henry Kachaje was a motivation speaker who encouraged Malawians to rely more on entrepreneurship than seeking employment.
He holds a Masters Degree from a Diploma Mill, the Azteca University.
