Maravi

PAC cautions govt on Indeni Oil Refinery

PAC cautions govt on Indeni Oil Refinery
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sun 07 Feb. 2010, 06:00 CAT

THE parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has cautioned that confidence in the government’s negotiation on the future of Indeni Oil Refinery will be lost if the anticipated Cabinet decision does not separate equity from contract management.

And Indeni Oil Refinery is currently operating without a board. During the submission by energy permanent secretary Teddy Kasonso before PAC on Thursday, committee chairperson Emmanuel Hachipuka urged Cabinet to specifically separate the management contract from the equity partnership.

Hachipuka said the government lost out from the previous arrangement where Total was allowed to hold a stake in equity but also managing Indeni on contract management basis.

“If you don’t we are losing faith in the manner the government is negotiating on the future of Indeni,” Hachipuka said. “We are concerned with the manner Indeni has been managed.”

Hachipuka said there was need for the government to furnish his committee with a properly hatched plan to decide the future of Indeni.

“PS, I am sorry you find yourself in that job. What comes out very clearly is that you have had a very poor relationship with the other shareholder,” he said.

Hachipuka said the arrangement created uncertainties on the future of Indeni.

“You have to furnish this committee with the plan to get Indeni from the red. It is not easy that the government owns 100 per cent shareholding,” he said. “We want to be assured that the new management can hatch a plan that get Indeni from its current situation. We will actually raise this issue with the Secretary to the Treasury when he appears before us.”

Kasonso agreed that there was still some uncertainty around the company until Cabinet makes a decision on the way forward for Indeni.

And Kasonso said a board for Indeni was yet to be reconstituted and as of last Wednesday, the Ministry of Energy and Water Development was still discussing with the ministry of finance over the matter.

“That we quickly legalise this position before April,” Kasonso said.
Ministry of energy director of energy Oscar Kalumiana said there was need to re-look at the articles of association before the Indeni board is reconstituted.

Luena Independent parliamentarian Charles Milupi said over the years, Indeni had continued to be problematic.

“Cooperate governance demands that rules and procedures are followed,” said Milupi.
Responding to the concerns of the committee, Kasonso said Indeni was far much better than the way it was under Total.

Labels: CHARLES MILUPI, EMMANUEL HACHIPUKA, INDENI, PAC

posted by MrK @ 3:05 PM