PAC vs Neef: When Oversight Turns Into Costly Obstruction

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef) to stop the disposal of farm inputs worth K15 billion.

In a letter dated 12 February, the committee instructed Neef chief executive officer Kayisi Sadala to suspend the planned auction pending what it calls a full due-diligence review.

PAC is chaired by Baba Steve Malondera, an opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) lawmaker.

The committee claims the auction process could be vulnerable to cartels and might exclude deserving beneficiaries. It has proposed that instead of auctioning the inputs, Neef should consider converting them into structured loans.

That sounds reasonable at first glance.

But it ignores what is actually happening on the ground.

Neef is sitting on seeds, fertiliser, chemicals and irrigation equipment. Some of these inputs have already been damaged by prolonged storage. Seeds lose viability. Chemicals expire. Fertiliser deteriorates. These are not goods that can sit indefinitely in a warehouse while politicians debate process.

Every day of delay means further loss.

At the same time, Neef is reportedly carrying invoices exceeding K12 billion. The institution is being forced to hold stock it is paying for, while Parliament blocks the very disposal meant to reduce exposure.

How does that protect public resources?

The proposal to turn the inputs into loans is even more detached from reality.

This is the rainy season. Farmers have already planted. Harvest is months away. Agricultural lending cycles do not operate on political timelines. Extending loans now makes little practical sense.

More importantly, lending requires money. Neef’s liquidity has been severely strained. Years of low recoveries and political disruption have depleted available funds. You cannot issue loans without capital.

That is a basic financial fact.

Oversight is important. No one disputes that.

But oversight must be practical and timely. A blanket suspension without a clear and urgent timeline for review risks creating the very losses PAC claims to be preventing.

There are also concerns about conflicts of interest. Questions have been raised about whether some PAC members are themselves beneficiaries of Neef loans or had oversight roles during the period when the alleged mismanagement occurred.

If that is the case, then moral authority becomes an issue.

Malawi cannot afford political grandstanding while stock deteriorates in storage.

If the inputs lose further value because of prolonged delays, responsibility will not rest with Neef alone. It will also lie with those who chose to halt action without offering a workable alternative.

Oversight should safeguard public funds.

It should not suffocate practical solutions.