Ombudsman Martha Chizuma says Collins Magalasi’s appointment was illegal

Ombudsman Martha Chizuma has said their probe has established that the appointment of Dr Collins Magalasi as Malawi Energy Regulator Authority (MERA) Chief Executive Officer was irregular.

Chizuma disclosed this during a media briefing held in the capital Lilongwe where she released a report on alleged unprocedural recruitment of former Chief Executive Officer Collins Magalasi, improper and irregular recruitment of some members of staff and acts of maladministration at Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA).

According to findings of the Ombudsman’s investigations, the appointment of Magalasi as CEO for MERA in 2017 was irregular and that it was wrong for former president Peter Mutharika to endorse the appointment.

Chizuma’s verdict on the appointment of the former CEO is that MERA board should not give Magalasi his terminal benefits and that if he was payed, he should return the money.

The report also discloses that the other recruitment under review was that of planning, monitoring and evaluation manager currently occupied by Geoffrey Chilenga.

The Ombudsman said she discovered that Chilenga came second during the interviews while Pacharo Mwanza was first.

However, Magalasi told the Ombudsman during the investigation that Mwanza was overlooked after he was tipped off that the successful candidate has fake social media accounts which he uses to leak information.

Chizuma suspected that this was just meant to discredit Mwanza to the benefit of Chilenga.

She has since asked MERA to seek references for Mwanza and offer him the job if they are pleasant.

The Ombudsman has also ruled that MERA information communication and technology manager Billy Kayira be replaced as he does not have the required qualifications.