By Aaron Dube
BLANTYRE- (MaraviPost)-When Yeremiya Chihana walked into the Blantyre Water Board on 8 April 2026, he inherited an institution known more for leaks, losses, and broken promises than for clean taps.
Eight weeks later, the conversation around BWB has shifted.
His brief at the top has been direct: restore public trust, expand access, and stop the bleeding of resources.
That mandate has translated into visible work on the ground.
New pumping mains now run into Bangwe, Chilomoni, and Machinjiri.
High-capacity pumps are pushing water into reservoirs that had been empty for years.
For households that went days without supply, the change is already being felt.
Chihana has paired those infrastructure moves with a different way of managing contracts.
Instead of business as usual, he is keeping a public register of suppliers who have failed standards or engaged in corrupt practices.
The preference now goes to firms that can deliver on time, meet specifications, and avoid shortcuts.
He has also taken the fight against non-revenue water out of boardrooms and into the streets.
In June 2026, BWB technicians under his supervision traced an unauthorized connection at Portland Cement’s Blantyre offices.
The company had circumvented the board’s metering system.
BWB responded with a K188 million penalty.
Chihana told the committee that such bypasses, across institutions in Blantyre, are costing the board an estimated K5 billion every month.
Similar enforcement actions have followed against other companies found tampering with meters.
The message has been consistent: water theft and revenue leakages will carry consequences.
But reform has not come without resistance.
Three weeks into the job, on 27 April 2026, Board Chair Stanley Chirwa suspended Chihana over allegations of misconduct and abuse of office.
Chihana said the move came after he declined to irregularly award a US$2 million contract, about MK3.5 billion, to a politically linked firm.
What followed was a rapid exchange of court orders.
Chihana secured a High Court stay the same day.
On 19 May 2026, Judge Allan Muhome vacated that order and advised the matter be taken to the Industrial Relations Court.
Chihana then sought and was granted leave to appeal at the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
That leave has allowed him to continue in office while the case proceeds.
During this period, the board chair, Stain Chirwa, has faced accusations of using repeated injunctions and summons to disrupt operations.
The BWB Employees Trade Union has since petitioned the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations to break the deadlock.
Through the legal turbulence, Chihana has kept attention on service metrics.
Pipes are being laid.
Illegal connections are being cut.
Partnerships are being pursued with the World Bank and other funders to finance network expansion.
For residents of Blantyre, the difference is practical rather than political.
It is water in tanks that used to be dry.
It is a CEO seen in the field rather than behind closed doors.
It is an emphasis on rules over relationships.
Whether that approach survives will depend on more than technical plans.
Malawi’s institutions are now being tested on whether they can shield reform-minded leadership from interference long enough to deliver results.
For now, Blantyre is seeing what accountability looks like when it is measured in liters, not statements.
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