Malawi’s Steven Baba Malondera Kamsiyamo has been elected Chairperson of the African Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (AFROPAC) during its executive election on Thursday.
The former AFROPAC Secretary-General, who will serve a four-year term as the chairperson, running from 2026 through 2030, took over the role from the outgoing AFROPAC Chairperson, Medard Lubega Sseggona.
He described his election as a continental responsibility rather than a personal achievement and pledged to defend the independence of parliamentary oversight committees and strengthen public financial accountability across Africa, and reassured member countries of his commitment to promoting transparency and accountability in public financial management.
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Steven Malondera pledged in his closing speech at AFROPAC’s 2026 Conference and General Meeting held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on Wednesday
“I have not been elected to represent Malawi alone. I have been elected to serve AFROPAC and the entire African family. My responsibility is continental in nature. My commitment is African, my mission is accountability,” he said.
He acknowledged the contributions of the outgoing executive committee, promising to build on its achievements rather than abandon existing initiatives.
“We do not come to replace your contributions. We come to build upon them. We do not come to start a new story. We come to write a stronger chapter of the story you have created,” he stated.
A major priority of his administration, he said, would be protecting the independence of Parliament and Public Accounts Committees (PACs) from political interference, intimidation and obstruction.
He urged African governments to respect the constitutional responsibilities of parliamentary oversight institutions, emphasising that scrutinising public expenditure should not be interpreted as hostility towards the executive.
“Asking questions is not an act of rebellion. Demanding accountability is not an act of hostility. Scrutinising public expenditure is not an attempt to undermine government. Parliamentary oversight is not an enemy of government. It is the guardian of the public interest,” he said.
Steven Malondera cautioned executive authorities against intimidating oversight committees, obstructing their work or frustrating investigations into the management of public funds.
The new Chairperson proposed strengthening AFROPAC’s Secretariat, including recruiting a French-speaking professional to improve communication and representation among French-speaking member countries.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Public Accounts Committee Chairperson and newly elected AFROPAC Deputy Chairperson, Abena Osei-Asare, urged delegates to translate the Accra Declaration into practical improvements in public financial accountability.
She identified four key commitments under the declaration: strengthening oversight of public debt and fiscal risks, protecting government revenue, promoting value-for-money audits in health and climate financing, and improving the implementation of audit recommendations.
Osei-Asare cited the Auditor-General’s revelation that only 41.8 per cent of audit recommendations had been implemented in Ghana, arguing that the challenge extended across the continent.
“We have become good at identifying the problems; we must become better at fixing them also,” she said.
She urged member countries to ensure the declaration becomes a practical commitment rather than another document left unimplemented.
“People do not judge accountability by the number of reports we write. They judge it by the difference we make,” she added.
The newly elected AFROPAC Executive Committee comprises Malawi as Chair, Ghana as Deputy Chair, Nigeria as Secretary-General, Chad as Deputy Secretary-General, Eswatini as Treasurer and Kenya as Deputy Treasurer.
The four-day conference, held from November 2 to 5, 2026, brought together parliamentary representatives, auditors-general, clerks, policy experts and governance stakeholders from across Africa.
It was held under the theme, “Oversight for Resilience: Strengthening Africa’s Public Accounts Committees Amid a Shifting Financial Landscape,” with discussions focusing on strengthening parliamentary oversight, improving institutional coordination and ensuring the implementation of audit recommendations.
Meanwhile, Benin’s bid to host the next AFROPAC conference was accepted unopposed, as it was the only candidate to come forward.