Lawyer Ottober appointed new Chairperson of PPDA

The seasoned private lawyer, Innocentia Ottober has been named the new chairperson of the public Procurement and Disposal Assets Authority(PPDA).

The development follows the suspension of another private lawyer, John Zuzi Banda who was resigned from his duty after President Chakwera suspended him as he was said to have been involved in the corrupt practices according to ACB’s report on the issue of Zuneth Sattar.

Public Appointment Committee Chairperson, Joyce Chitsulo confirmed the development to the weekend nations.

Chitsulo added that the newly appointed Chairperson will be deputies by Jacob Nyirongo who happens to be the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) chief executive officer (CEO).

According to Chitsulo, three names were submitted to the committee and all of the candidates got PAC’s approval and the third one was Amos Nyambo who was named the board member.

“The Act says the responsible minister should get the nominations from such professional bodies where the three names come from. Their credentials and track records had no issues hence approval,” said Chitsulo

Chitsulo added that in terms of qualifications, the Act stipulates that the candidates must possess the first degree in their fields and in terms of the experience of which all the candidates fulfilled all the requirements.

October who has served as a lawyer for over 26 years was also appointed as a board member of National Oil Company by Dr Chakwera in 2020 but he later resigned from the posts on personal grounds.