Malawi Cables has established that the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) is planning to hold an elective conference from November 3 to 6, 2026 at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre, with sources alleging that only selected members who support the current leadership have been invited.
According to sources within the organisation, the conference is expected to endorse the continuation of the current executive committee, effectively extending the mandate of chairperson Monsignor Patrick Thawale and his team.
The sources told Malawi Cables that only a limited number of PAC members have been invited to attend the meeting, with invitations reportedly restricted to those considered supportive of the current office bearers.
The planned conference comes amid growing questions over PAC’s leadership tenure, with critics arguing that the organisation has delayed holding elections to replace its current executive.
The PAC executive was elected in December 2019 for a three-year term, which expired in December 2022. However, the committee has remained in office without holding an elective annual general meeting.
In January 2024, Nation Online reported that the leadership’s continued stay in office had attracted criticism from governance experts, who questioned the extension of its mandate.
PAC’s Board of Trustees, however, defended the arrangement, saying it relied on provisions in the organisation’s constitution allowing the existing executive to continue conducting business in the absence of a newly elected committee.
The board said the extension was necessary to ensure institutional continuity and allow the organisation to complete constitutional review processes and other pending activities.
The latest development is likely to renew debate over accountability and leadership succession within PAC, an influential faith-based civil society organisation that has often called on public institutions to uphol
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