Ex-PPDA Boss Challenges ‘Illegal’ Dismissal, Questions Authority Behind Suspension

Former Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) Director General Eddington Chilapondwa has launched a legal battle against his dismissal, arguing that the entire disciplinary process that led to his removal was unlawful from the very beginning. In papers filed before the Industrial Relations Court (IRC), Chilapondwa contends that his suspension in January this year was invalid because it was authorised by Secretary to the Treasury Cliff Chiunda instead of the PPDA Board, which he says is the only body legally empowered under the PPDA Act to suspend a director general. The former PPDA chief further argues that he was kept on suspension for more than five months, far exceeding the 60-day limit prescribed by law, before eventually being dismissed in April.

At the centre of the dispute is Section 17(3) of the PPDA Act, which Chilapondwa says gives the authority to suspend the director general to the PPDA Board, not the Secretary to the Treasury. “My contract was not tripartite. It only existed between me and the board whose tenure had ceased,” Chilapondwa said, insisting that the suspension letter issued by the Secretary to the Treasury had no legal basis.

His claims appear to draw support from statements made by both former and current board leadership. Former PPDA Board chairperson Jacob Nyirongo confirmed that his board left office while Chilapondwa was still serving as director general. Current board chairperson Kalekeni Kaphale also acknowledged earlier this year that there was no board in place at the time the suspension was effected.

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“There was no board until last week,” Kaphale said in a February interview. Chilapondwa argues that the absence of a board raises serious questions about the legality of the decision to suspend him and subsequently initiate disciplinary proceedings. He also claims that the suspension period was repeatedly extended beyond the statutory limit, including through a 21-day extension letter that he says was delivered to his residence at midnight.

The former director general is asking the court to declare both the prolonged suspension and his dismissal unlawful and is seeking either reinstatement or compensation. He further alleges possible non-compliance with Section 18(2) of the PPDA Act, which requires the board to notify the responsible minister within 14 days if a vacancy persists beyond 21 days. When a new board was eventually appointed, Chilapondwa said it invited him to appear before a disciplinary hearing, but he refused, arguing that the process had been irreparably compromised.

“I declined the invitation because the process emanated from an illegality,” he said. “The process was tainted from inception.” Officials have so far declined to comment in detail on the matter. Comptroller of Statutory Corporations Stuart Ligomeka cited the ongoing court proceedings, while Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha said he had not yet been formally briefed.

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