Govt loses MEC fight

Government has bowed down to demands by seven former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) commissioners, giving them the go ahead to buy top-of-the-range vehicles, which they were using during their term of office.

Initially, when the seven commissioners’ term of office expired, they wrote Secretary to the Treasury Ronald Mangani to allow them to buy the Toyota Land Cruiser TX Prados as per their conditions of service.

Initially, Mangani refused to grant the request, saying the cars had not been used for more than five years and also that they had not been driven for at least 150 000 kilometres.

The commissioners, who started their work in 2012, then sued government and the matter was scheduled for hearing on Wednesday last week.

But a letter dated September 26, written by Mangani to chief elections officer and copied to Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale, reads in part: “I write to advise the Malawi Electoral Commission to purchase the motor vehicles according to their conditions of service. This position has also been communicated to the Attorney General, following his legal opinion on the matter.”

MEC acting spokesperson Richard Mveriwa confirmed that Treasury has given the former commissioners the go-ahead to buy the vehicles.

He said: “This matter was between the commissioners and the Secretary to the Treasury. The Commission wrote the Secretary to the Treasury seeking direction. According to article 4.2.2 of the revised Terms of Conditions of Service for the Commissioners of the Electoral Commission, they are entitled to purchase institutional vehicles allocated to them after five years of use or at the end of their contract whichever way may come first.

“The Treasury has now approved that the former commissioners purchase the vehicles, based on the initial offer, which is in line with the stipulated conditions of service for the Electoral Commission commissioners. The former commissioners can now purchase the vehicles, the issue has been cleared by the Secretary to the Treasury upon seeking legal opinion from the Attorney General.”

The former commissioners can buy the vehicles at nearly K4.5 million, 10 percent of the purchase value.

However, the commissioners will also be expected to pay duty to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA).

The vehicles were bought at K19 million (duty-free). A source at Toyota Malawi said after a four-year period, the vehicles could have depreciated by K13 million. The vehicles are currently selling at K39.7 million duty-free. n