Former MEC chairperson Jane Ansah
* This follows her office’s investigations on allegations of abuse of power and other acts of maladministration
* The foreign lawyers were to be hired to represent MEC in the 2019 Constitutional Court presidential election case
* Ansah and Kaphale abused their powers and breaching procurement laws in connection with the South African lawyers
* Former PPDA chairperson ordered to reimburse K8.7 million in allowances between November 2018 and June 2020
By Duncan Mlanjira
The Ombudsman Martha Chizuma has ordered former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Justice Jane Ansah and former Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale to refund a total of K3,155,248 which was used to host South African lawyers in the process to hire them for the 2019 presidential elections case.
Former Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale
The Ombudsman has ruled that Ansah and Kaphale ‘acted illegally’ for facilitating the travel of representatives of the Mboweni Maluleke Inc to start executing a retainer agreement before a ‘No Objection’ had been received from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA).
The K3,155,248 public funds was paid to The President’s Hotel in Lilongwe where the South African lawyers were accommodated.
The Ombudsman has given the two to refund the money to MEC and proof of payment should be submitted to her office by April 28, 2021.
Advertisement
The Ombudsman carried out the investigations following a complaint filed in April, 2020 by Youth and Society (YAS) that outlined some alleged various acts of maladministration in the manner in which MEC procured the services of South Africa lawyers — Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza SC and Counsel Elizabeth Makhanani Baloyi-Mere.
The Ombudsman’s report says Kaphale and Ansah abused their powers and breaching procurement laws in connection with the South African lawyers and their failure to “negotiate fees that were reasonable was maladministration”.
The two have also found the two that their action to surrender the soft copy of the Constitutional Court record to the South Africa lawyers even before the procurement processes had begun “was clearly unreasonable and a mockery to the procurement guidelines”.
Coronavirus alert
Ansah is accused of exerting undue pressure exerted on the Internal Procurement and Disposal Committee (IPDC) such that it failed to properly deliberate on the procurement and merely rubber stamped the decisions that were made by Ansah and Kaphale.
Also under investigation was High Court Judge, Lloyd Muhara whom the Ombudsman has ordered the Judicial Service Commission to review his attainability as judge following his alleged involvement in Ansah’s and Kaphale’ controversy.
The investigation uncovered that Muhara, while serving as Chief Secretary to the Government, influenced in a “knowingly, deliberately or out of sheer incompetence” the illegal appointment of board chairperson for PPDA — private practice lawyer Madalitso M’meta.
It is alleged that M’meta played a critical role in the hiring process of the South African lawyers in disregard of the laws.
Coronavirus alert
“The failure by the PPDA to articulate with certainty what method of procurement was used in this matter was an abrogation of duty,” says the report.
“The failure by the Board to reconvene and deliberate on the technical report was an abdication of their duty and contrary to the set internal procedures at the PPDA.”
M’meta has also been ordered to reimburse K8.7 million in allowances he received between November 2018 and June 2020 as PPDA board chairperson.
