The National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) Board Chairperson, Colleen Zamba, is facing accusations of awarding a fuel supply deal to a company that was not recommended by the Internal Procurement Committee (IPC).
On Saturday, Nyasatimes reported that NOCMA IPC last month gave a nod for the company to proceed with the suppliers that are already in its books following an appraisal of the successful delivery of service by them all.
However, a source within NOCMA told Nyasatimes that Zamba, who is also the Secretary to the President and Cabinet, later told the committee that she has added another supplier, HG Technologies, a move that has raised eyebrows both at NOCMA and Capital Hill.
“We recommended to the board that the suppliers we have been using to procure petroleum products should continue with their service. What surprised us is that a few weeks later, we were informed of a new supplier who should be added to the list without any procedures.
“We were advised that the board chairperson has made a unilateral decision on this,” a member of the procurement committee told Nyasatimes.
It is further reported that the company has no proven track record in fuel logistics both in Malawi and across the SADC region.
The sources say such a move smells of corruption and abuse of power by those entrusted with affairs of a critical commodity that drives the economy. Since her appointment in 2022, Zamba has been wrongly involved in some high-profile procurement deals in the energy and agriculture sectors.
For instance, former NOCMA boss Hellen Buluma was the first to implicate Zamba as the brains behind dubious contracts around the procurement and shipping of petroleum products into the country.
