ODPP faulted on Malawi-Zambia maize deal

The commission of inquiry’s report on the purchase of maize from Zambia has faulted the Office of the Director of Public Procurement (ODPP) for acting unprofessionally in the procurement process.

According to the report, the ODPP office did not adhere to the requirement under the Public Procurement Act (PPA) in the assessment of the applications for ‘no objection’ on the Kaloswe contract submitted by ADMARC.

“The Commission noted that the documents from ADMARC were submitted by email containing minutes of IPC that lacked crucial information from which ODPP could base its decision,” reads the report.

The report adds that the ODPP granted approval in the absence of such crucial information. “The Office of the Director of Public Procurement would have taken time to scrutinize the documents properly before approving all the proceedings.

“Correspondence available to the commission indicate that the ODPP was formally approached for ‘no objection’ to the Kaloswe contract on Saturday the 18th June 2016 and after the Kaloswe contract was signed the previous day,” the commission said. According to the report, the ODPP approved the ‘no objection’ contract the same day 18th June 2016 despite the documents submitted to it not complying with the requirements of the PPA.

“The Commission noted that there was unnecessary haste in processing the ‘no objection’ which created undue pressure on the office of the ODPP and compromised the proper scrutiny of documents by that office,” reads the report.

President Peter Mutharika set the commission of inquiry last month following media reports that there were corrupt practices in Malawi’s maize procurement process from Zambia. The commission was chaired by Retired Chief Justice Anastasia Msosa.