Africa-Press – Malawi. The purge at the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) has entered a new phase, with the institution now terminating contracts for some of its Agriculture Loan Officers employed under non-established positions.
One of the affected officers has confirmed receiving a letter dated November 5, 2025, notifying them that their employment will officially cease on December 5, 2025.
The communication, signed by NEEF Human Resources Manager Dalitso Mombera, states that the contract termination is not linked to job performance but is instead part of a broader restructuring exercise to align staffing with what the institution describes as shifting operational priorities.
This development is not emerging in isolation. It comes at a time when NEEF has been under intense scrutiny over alleged mismanagement, politically influenced loan allocations, and questions surrounding the institution’s recruitment patterns since its rebranding from the Malawi Enterprise Development Fund (MEDF).
Over the past year, NEEF has been steadily tightening internal controls, conducting staff capacity reviews, and removing officers believed to have been hired under politically convenient arrangements rather than competitive and merit-based processes. The termination of these Agriculture Loan Officers suggests that the clean-up is continuing and widening.
What is striking is the tone of the letter itself. It carefully emphasizes that the affected officers have not been faulted in their individual performance, subtly acknowledging that the issue lies not with competence but with how and why those roles existed in the first place.
For many, this signals the undoing of recruitment decisions that may have served political interests more than institutional need. NEEF has also assured the officers that they will work until the end of their contracts and may request reference letters, a phrasing that attempts to soften the blow but does little to disguise the reality that their services are no longer required.
Inside NEEF, morale is now reported to be uneasy. Employees are watching the restructuring unfold with a mix of anxiety and resignation, knowing the institution is recalibrating itself under growing pressure to professionalize.
Externally, stakeholders are watching to see whether this crackdown represents genuine reform or simply the replacement of one group of loyalists with another under a different political climate.
For now, what is clear is that the clean-up continues and those without firm footing in the new institutional order are being quietly shown the door. Whether these moves will restore public confidence in the loan fund, or merely deepen fears of political recycling in Malawi’s state institutions, remains a question that time will answer.
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