A stand-off between National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) and Mera over procurement threatens fuel availability in the country following the expiry of importation contracts.
Meanwhile, the situation has left the country’s strategic fuel reserves, which normally store 78 million litres of fuel, with only two months of fuel cover.
This was revealed at a meeting organised by the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Environment which brought together Nocma and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) officials in Lilongwe on Saturday.
Nocma officials, led by acting chief executive officer Hellen Buluma, told the meeting that should the situation remain the same, the country will likely face a fuel crisis from as early as June 30 following the expiry of contracts of current suppliers.
The Nocma officials accused Mera of deliberately stalling approvals of new permits for imports because of political interference as some government officials allegedly want to impose their preferred suppliers on Nocma, in addition to some disagreements over technical aspects of the procurement system.
They also accused Mera of lying to the public that the system used by the company to procure fuel from suppliers was both illegal and expensive.
But Mera officials, led by board chairperson Leonnard Chikadya, said their intervention is backed by law and was only restricted to advising Nocma to add two more companies to the list of suppliers to ensure that there is enough supply of fuel. They also said the two recommended suppliers were those who had participated in the bidding process.
However, this prompted emotional responses with Buluma accusinggovernment of imposing its preferred bidders through both Mera and politicians.
She told the meeting that Nocma and Mera officials were invited to a meeting at Capital Hill in Lilongwe where two Cabinet ministers and a presidential aide asked Nocma to give contracts to two of their preferred companies.
Said Buluma: “Let us follow the law to the letter. Even if this meant the end of me at Nocma, let us be fair. They are saying the matter is about DDU [Delivered Duty Unpaid], but we know why this issue is an issue today. We need to get to the bottom of things to say who is telling us the truth.
“There are lots of things that are happening behind the scenes. Let’s try to do the right things in Malawi. People were looking for change but this is the toughest political process we have had at Nocma.”
Mera acting CEO Ishmael Chioko, who attended the meeting at CapitalHill, dismissed Buluma’s version of the events, saying that no company was imposed on Nocma.
He said: “The meeting that took place at the Ministry of Finance was about a proposal from some oil company which said if they were granted licence to import fuel, they would guarantee the same fuel price for a year.
“Both Nocma and Mera refused. I personally said there is no company that can guarantee a fuel price for a year and that this can only be done by a fuel producing country.”
Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Environment chairperson Welani Chilenga, whose committee ordered Mera board to end the impasse within a week and report back to the committee this Friday, said the committee is worried by the impasse.
He said: “What is happening is that all the supply contracts to Nocma are expiring and Nocma is struggling to get approvals for new contracts.
![A new book on democratic governance in the country argues that there is a general decline in public trust of key governance institutions.
The decline, according to authors of the book, is related to government performance and integrity which has had effects on political legitimacy.
The book, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’, has a chapter on ‘Two Decades of Governance in Malawi: Examining Citizen Trust in Malawi From 1999-2019’, is written by governance expert Professor Happy Kayuni and political analyst Joseph Chunga both from the University of Malawi.
The two examined institutions such as Parliament, the Judiciary, the Presidency and Police from 1999 to 2019 largely as part of Afro-barometer surveys.
They examined factors that affect public trust, implications on State legitimacy and prospects of democracy.
During a webinar on the chapter ‘Two Decades of Governance in Malawi: Examining Citizen Trust in Malawi From 1999-2019’, Kayuni said possible explanatory factors for the declining levels of trust are perceptions of government handling of food challenges, management of economy, general performance and levels of corruption.
He said: “With minor exceptions, the trends from 1999 to 2019 show that there has been a general decline in the level of trust [a lot or somewhat] for all institutions.
“It is interesting to note that all institutions received increasing approval or trust between 1999 and 2005. The general reduction mainly started around 2008 to the present.”
Kayuni said significant exceptions are with the Office of the President and Cabinet and the courts.
He said: “The Office of the President has witnessed a substantially significant reduction in trust from 79 percent in 2008 to 29 percent in 2014 followed by another increase to 36 percent and 43 percent in 2017 and 2019 respectively.”
Chunga, on the other hand, said the consequence of such loss of trust has been a declining support for elections, as a method of choosing political leaders and a declining trust in the police and their legitimacy to enforce people’s obedience to the law.
He said: “While it may be argued that Malawians expect too much from their parliamentarians, one needs to appreciate that those are to a greater degree jointly defined and perpetuated by both sides.
“Thus some key explanatory factors or issues that needs to be seriously considered if trust has to be restored.”
Chunga said these may include improving the anti- corruption drive, need for the government to effectively handle food challenges, management of the economy and government to effectively handle general public performance.
Speaking during the first webinar on October 27, one of the editors, associate professor of political and administrative studies at University of Malawi Asiyati Chiweza argued that the mass demonstrations in 2019 were partly driven by deep concern about long-standing social, political and economic problems.
President Lazarus Chakwera and his deputy Saulos Chilima during campaign](https://www.mwnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Chakwera-7-75x75.jpg)
