BLANTYRE (MaraPost)—The recent firing of the Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), Nansinuku Saukira is a serious error of the current President Joyce Banda and raises more serious concerns on the independence of Statutory Corporations, Malawi Watch has said.
President Banda fired Saukira despite being advised to recall him from suspension after the disciplinary committee cleared him of charges over 30,000 metric tones of maize which got rotten in the strategic grain silos on his watch.
Saukila, together with Operations Director Clement Lwanda and Depot Manager John Maganga, appeared before a disciplinary Committee which was made up of Trustees of NFRA Board, Chief Sultan Chowe, Sam Mang’anda, Peter Bvalani, Dorothy Banda and Hendrix Kazembe-Phiri from the Ministry of Agriculture, James Nkhokwe from the Department of Statutory Corporations and Mike Majabula from Management Services in the Department of Human Resources.
Saukira was not found guilty, but the disciplinary committee found the government at fault for failing to respond in time and by providing resources to run the agency despite being informed of the need.
But instead of following the disciplinary committee’s recommendation of reinstating Saukira, President Banda last week hired Kelvin M’mangisa as the new Chief Executive Officer of the food reserve agency.
“The firing and hiring of Chief Executive Officers in the Parastatals without complying to the required procedures raises more serious concerns on the independence of Statutory Corporations.
“The recent firing of former NFRA CEO Mr. Nansinuku Saukira is a serious error of the current president Dr. Joyce Banda,” said Malawi Watch Executive Director, Billy Banda.
He further said “our big worry as citizens is how too much powers any president has in the constitution which is evidently being abused but little is done by ordinary citizens to timely react.”
“We do not know if any efforts will be made to review the constitution. When the president errors, can she fire herself or himself? Where does she get things too personal on very crucial life threatening issue like the maize issue?” wondered Malawi Watch boss.
He further wondered why the country’s leaders do not take heed to sound and constructive advices from many quarters of Malawi.
There was no immediate comment from government’s spokesperson Brown Mpinganjira as his phoned went answered on several occasions.-MARAPOST
