Presidential Advisor on Political Affairs, Ephraim Chivunde, has been accused of manipulating Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC), Colleen Zamba, to make myopic decisions on behalf of the government.
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera appointed Zamba in June 2022, replacing Zangazanga Chikhosi who had been fired a few earlier in May the same year.
Since her appointment, the SPC has been mired in a number of high profile investigations involving procurement deals in some critical sectors of the economy such as energy and agriculture.
At the height of fuel crisis in the country, governance and economic commentators questioned her role as Board Chairperson of the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA), raising eyebrows on the level of powers she has and how she uses that power in executing her duties.
But now the accusing fingers are pointing at Chivunde as being the main culprit behind the terrible decisions Zamba has been making on behalf of the Government of Malawi.
Our highly placed sources at the Capital Hill are, for instance, accusing the adviser of influencing the SPC to facilitate the signing of the ill-fated $6.8 billion (about K11.3 billion) deal with the Belgium-based Bridgin Foundation on November 28, 2022.
There has been dead silence on the future of the package, which was meant to finance projects in areas of health, education, energy and infrastructure development has no progress report.
“In a recent development, Chivunde influenced the SPC [Zamba] to seal a deal with East Bridge to supply fertilizer for the 2023-2024 Affordable Input Programme before entering into another agreement with a Botswana-based company, SG Global, to supply fertilizers and fuel to Malawi,” revealed our sources.
Furthermore, Chivunde influenced the awarding of contracts at Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) and Malawi Gaming Board to the Mpinganjira family to which he is related, our sources added.
Chivunde could not be immediately contacted for his comment.
