Concerned road transport operators call for AGM

Some concerned members of the Road Transport Operators Association of Malawi have written to the association’s board of trustees to call for a long overdue elective annual general meeting (AGM).

The AGM was last held in 2014, contrary to the association’s constitution, which stipulates that it must be held every year.

In a letter dated May 2 2022, the concerned members have asked the board of trustees to call for an AGM, which has not taken place since August 16 2014.

Reads the letter in part: “We have on several occasions approached the secretariat to call for the same to no avail.

“We have written to the secretariat once again to call for a special general meeting at the shortest time possible. As members, we will not sit back watching our association die a natural death.”

In an interview on Friday, Road Transport Operators Association of Malawi executive secretary Chrissy Flao said as the secretariat, their role is to facilitate what the membership wants.

She said: “We know that the members are demanding an annual general meeting and our role is to facilitate that.

“The annual general meeting will be held next week on June 4 in Lilongwe. All is set and the members will elect new office bearers.”

Flao said some members got a court order to restrain the current executive from executing its duties as their tenure of office expired.

She said they have complied with the court order and the members will go to an elective conference next week.

On the allegations of abuse of office by some executive members, Flao refused to comment.

But a member of the association, who did not want to be named, said those who have raised the issues are just playing their whistle-blowing role to let the membership know what is happening.

Some of the issues raised in the letter include alleged flouting of procurement procedures, abuse of the association’s property and money and allegedly taking loans, allowances and trailers without board of trustees approval.

Another sticky issue is that there is a contract to haul fuel by the association, but the executive committee members are allegedly “executing it secretly without the knowledge of the executive secretary”.

Reads the letter: “What if a load goes missing, shall it not bring financial crisis to the association?”

The concerned members have asked the board of trustees to look into the matters, saying they are getting out of hand.