By Wadza Botomani
The Vibrant Blantyre City South DPP member of parliament has voiced disapproval over the appointment of renowned motivation speaker and economist Henry Kachaje as Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) CEO citing he is unqualified for the role.
It was announced on Tuesday that Kachaje had came out tops of all the applicants for the role and that he was now the new CEO of the crucial government department
But writing on his social media handle , Lipipa , who is famous for his ” One MP at a time , give some respect” didnt wait to give Kachaje any time but chraged fully against the appointment “Consistent with the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) advert the appointment of one Henry Kachaje is irregular for failing to adhere to the Minimum Education Qualifications and Experience” he said.
According to Lipipa, MERA board of directors announced Mr. Kachaje as the CEO after a “competitive” process to which they should make public the details of the entire vetting and recruitment process as it evidently was marred by lack of transparency besides scanty information and recruitment details. “It defies logic and legal considerations that an individual who could not produce his Master’s degree was vetted, interviewed and subsequently hired as the substantive CEO. The vetting is meant to determine the suitability of one to serve as a public officer”
Lipipa went on to say “It is apparent in view of the foregoing that, the process was inconsistent with the advert and to some extent the express provisions of our constitution and law which requires an open, fair and competitive, merit-based exercise. Therefore, the occupancy, continued stay and acting in office of Mr Kachaje with the questions lingering around the fairness and impartiality of the selection process and in effect the suitability, has led to prejudice and breach of public trust”
Lipipa believes that various insider vested interests are at play, which means control of the institution by handpicking and appointing Mr. Kachaje to the position.
However, others have come in defence of Kachaje describing him as the right man for the role. Lilongwe East MP who is also MCP deputy publicity secretary Ezekiel Ching’oma wrote on his social media that “Those of you asking me about Henry Kachaje, the new MERA CEO….below is the little information I know about him, Kachaje lectures at MUST. He is also pursuing MBA at MUST. He is yet to complete his MBA studies. Kachaje recently graduated with a masters degree from South Africa University. Kachaje once worked at Petroleum Control Commission (4) Kachaje has done extensive publications. Kachaje has done several consultancies with World Bank. His published consultancy papers are widely cited”
But according to his LinkedIn profile, Kachaje holds a bachelor of social science majoring in economics from University of Malawi obtained in 1994 and is a certified business consultant (University of Durham-United Kingdom).
