Anti-Corruption Bureau arrests former Roads Authority boss

Tom Sangala June 21, 2017

461 1 minute read

Graft-busting body the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested fired Roads Authority Chief Executive Officer Trevor Hiwa.

A statement issued Tuesday by the Bureau’s Senior Public Relations Officer, Egrita Ndala, said Hiwa is likely to be charged with failure to disclose interest in the procurement process contrary to Section 25D (1) of the Corrupt Practices Act and Section 19 (1) of the Public Procurement Act.

He will also be charged with abuse of public office contrary to Section 25B (1) of the Corrupt Practices Act, the statement adds.

According to the statement, on April 28 2016, the ACB received an allegation that Hiwa and another Engineer Sam Kadangwe had recommended Infracon Limited which was Hiwa’s company for the World Bank-sponsored contract worth $303,823 for the design and supervision of various roads to be constructed in the Central and Southern regions of Malawi without the approval of the Internal Procurement Committee (IPC) and without declaring interest.

The development, according to Ndala, propelled the ACB to institute investigations which established that Hiwa recommended Infracon Limited for the contract.

“Hiwa said that Infracon had a less workload as compared to the other consultants but the truth of the matter was that no any consultant was contacted to find out if they were free to undertake this contract.

“The Bureau also established that Engineer Trevor Elias Hiwa misinformed Engineer Samuel Kadangwe that Infracon Limited was cleared by the Office of the Director of Public Procurements (ODPP) and could do business with the Roads Authority,” the statement reads in part.

Meanwhile, The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) through its National Secretary, Martin Chiphwanya, has said the arrest inspires confidence in the fight against corruption in the wake of rampant cases of alleged corruption involving senior officials.

“This particular case was heavily reported in the media and it certainly has attracted public interest, so the arrest and subsequent processes will make the former RA boss account for his actions. If cases of this nature are dealt with decisively, the public will surely have confidence in our graft-busting agency,” Chiphwanya said.

A disciplinary hearing held on May 11 2017, by the Roads Authority found Hiwa guilty of abuse of office among other things.

He was later dismissed after appearing before the committee over the K217 million contract.

Our sister newspaper, Malawi News broke the news on Hiwa’s alleged corrupt practice. As Times Group, we persistently ran the story, against all odds which included threats of law suits and other tactics to intimidate us. The professional coverage later earned Times Group the 2016/17 Misa Investigative Journalism of the Year Award as well as Media House of the Year Print and Television.