The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has issued a Restriction Notice that stops Escom Chief Executive Officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda from proceeding with any transaction, agreement or other arrangement in relation to a 300 megawatts (mw) Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Westland Construction and ACSG Consortium.
A statement signed by ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala shows that the restriction notice has been issued to allow the graft-busters to conduct investigations into allegations of corrupt practices that the bureau has received regarding the PPA.
This, according to the ACB, is in pursuance of its powers under Section 23 (1) of the Corrupt Practices Act.
Kumwenda Wednesday confirmed to have received the ACB order on Tuesday.
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“I have not seen the order. It was sent to my office in Blantyre and I am currently in Lilongwe. We will abide by the ACB order until after their investigation are concluded,” Kumwenda said.
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In June this year, the Ministry of Energy announced at a news conference in Lilongwe that they terminated contract agreements with 19 IPPs after due diligence on companies that were contracted to supply power proved to be questionable.
At that time, Kumwenda indicated that the recruitment process for IPPs would start all over again because, since the signing of the contracts, companies have never availed themselves.
“We have put on hold Independent Power Producer agreements after investigations have shown that there was no due diligence when entering into agreements with the companies. We want genuine investors at Escom,” Kumwenda said.
He said they had written to all IPPs to get more information on the investors.
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Principal Secretary for Energy Alfonso Chikuni then indicated that Escom had re-assumed the functions of a single buyer following the dissolution of Power Market Limited.
He said Energy Generation Company is now generating adequate energy for supply to the country.
In 2021, former minister of Energy Newton Kambala also warned that the government would terminate the IPPs’ contracts because they had stalled for invalid reasons.
The government had awarded 11 IPP contracts to generate electricity that would be tapped into the national grid.
