BWB staff want APMto fire CEO, board chair

Employees of Blantyre Water Board (BWB) have resolved to ask President Peter Mutharika to remove chief executive officer Yeremiah Chihana and board chairperson Stanley Chirwa to restore stability at the water utility.

Under the banner of BWB Employees Trade Union, the workers made the resolution yesterday during a meeting at BWB head office in Blantyre.

BWB employees gathered at the head office | Nation

They said the dispute between the board and the CEO is negatively affecting operations and productivity.

Speaking in an interview, the union’s secretary general Davie Maluwa said they have tried other measures but the impasse continues, which is why they want the President to intervene.

“We have resolved that both the CEO and board chairperson should be removed so that operations can stabilise. Our aim is to save the institution,” he said.

In May, the union also wrote Comptroller of Statutory Corporations Stuart Ligomeka seeking resolution to end the standoff.

Maluwa yesterday said Ligomeka told them he could not intervene because the matter was before the courts.

YIn a separate interview yesterday, Ligomeka referred questions on the matter to Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba, who is the official government spokesperson. However, Namalomba was not available.

During the employees’ meeting yesterday, staff gathered within the BWB head office premises for more than three hours, where they prayed for the future of the institution and listened to music on loud speakers.

Meanwhile, governance analysts Benedicto Kondowe and Willy Kambwandira said prolonged leadership uncertainty at the utility could undermine its core mandate of delivering reliable water supply.

The employees’ action comes after the High Court of Malawi ordered Chihana’s reinstatement following his fresh suspension by the board last week over allegations of misrepresentation, unauthorised appointments and securing a K500 million overdraft allegedly without the board’s approval.

In his order, Judge Jack N’riva also granted Chihana leave to seek judicial review of the board’s decision to suspend him pending an inquiry.

This was Chihana’s second suspension in five months. During his earlier suspension, he obtained a court order reinstating him to his position at the public water utility.