By Rick Dzida
At the swearing-in ceremony of cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, President Chakwera grabbed an opportunity to disclose reasons why he fired some cabinet ministers. The following are some quotes from his speech:
- You must address your duties. You must fulfil your responsibilities. You must do your job “. Here President Chakwera is washing his hands in the public. He is telling the general public the reasons he fired other ministers. They were not doing their job. In fact, he is saying, if you do not address your duties, I will also fire you as I did to the other previous cabinet ministers.
- ” And when I issue a directive for your ministry to conduct, you must engage an extra gear to see that it is carried out with speed and without excuses beyond your regular duties. ” The president is providing useful information in advance. A directive must be conducted even if it is outside your regular duties. But my advice is that the directive must be executed if and only if it does not violate the laws of Malawi. If you refuse to conduct an unlawful directive , the law will protect you.
- ” I expect my Cabinet to work together. Many of Malawi’s problems are multi-sectoral and require
inter-ministerial collaboration “. In the cabinet, there is a lot of backbiting, gossiping, jealousy and pull-down syndrome. Some cabinet ministers want to be seen and favored by the President. This compromises the team working spirit. Some ministers have been shuffled to other ministries for telling lies to the president about other ministers.
- ” Occupying high office is not a license to act high and might”. Some ministers became pompous. They even hired a private jet for a meeting that could have been attended virtually online. Other ministers became so boastful that they told the gathering Kuti ‘anthu amandiopa’ including the president kuti amamuopa.
- “Do not work in silos. Do not work alone”. The President is speaking from experience. We saw former minister of industry inspecting bread bakery alone. Of course, another minister would find it trivial to accompany a fellow minister on such a tour. We saw Attorney General making a directive of 60 days amnesty to fraudsters without any consultations. He thought he was clever and wise. The opposite is true.
- ” Do not accept a gift in exchange for using your office to give someone preferential treatment in the administration of a public service” Many government officials are amassing a lot of wealth through kickbacks and unfair procurement system. It is alleged that the former presidential officer was axed for the same reasons. Former minister of lands is answering charges of corruption emanating from the same kickbacks. The Director of Communications in the State House is allegedly not spared. Even pastors and reverends have fallen prey to the vices of corruption.
- “Do not invent or fabricate or approve useless ministry activities in order to generate allowances for you and other public servants”. Former minister of sports allegedly approved hefty allowances to watch a tournament in Cameroon. He is also alleged to have used government money for his hair transplant.
- ” Do not bully or push state institutions to pay or award a contractor from whom you stand to benefit and with whom you have business interests or shares. Former minister of energy and other government officials are answering charges of forcing the Acting Chief Executive Officer of National Oil Company of Malawi to award a contract to another company from which they wanted to benefit. President Chakwera has warned against this malpractice.
- ” Do not, under any circumstances or for any personal glory, violate the oath of office and related oath of secrecy you have taken, which are required by law and are designed to protect
our national interests for the good of Malawi and its people. The President has warned his cabinet ministers against this negligence. They should not take advantage that the President will spare them just because he forgave the current ACB director for violating her oath. I find this warning very timely and necessary. I also recall the current Speaker of parliament broke her oath of office when she disclosed what was discussed in the cabinet meeting after the demise of Bingu Mutharika. Wonders never cease.
- ” Do not become presumptuous and imagine that your appointment is attributed to someone else. You are my minister”. The so-called Prime minister grew so powerful that some ministers started to report to him. Other ministers thought that the Secretary to the Office of President and Cabinet was more powerful than the President. In fact, there were times he assumed the powers of the president. Malawians also saw a conflict of interest when both the President and the Vice President inspected the same road construction project at various times. In another vein, the President was at one time labelled to be a puppet by his critics. We hope this directive is the first sign that he is asserting himself as the President of the Republic of Malawi.
- ” I expect regular and timely reports to my office of the progress you are making, and I expect those reports to be presented to me directly and for me to be the one that directs you on whether any contents in your reports should be shared with anyone else. The word regular or timely here is arbitrary. Bingu Mutharika emphasized on monthly reports. This could have created a huge workload to the president, but it is the efficient way he can stay updated with activities taking place in the line ministries. It is also another way of encouraging his ministers to work hard. If the president expects his ministers to work hard, he must be prepared to work extra harder himself.
- ” One of the flaws of the Cabinet I dissolved last week was its deafening silence”. Why was there silence from some ministers? Did the leader motivate them to work? Did they know their responsibilities? Imagine orientation seminar was conducted after two months of being in office? No reports were required from them either. All ministers knew that it was a cabinet of appeasement and there was no need to be seen working.
“You can’t be a Minister and think that you must run to the President to complain every time you face a challenge or obstacle with another public office”. The president is only saying that you should not bring petty issues to the president. It is the responsibility of the minister to deal with such nitty gritty issues.
Send feedback to: Rick Dzida, email: rdzida@gmx.com
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of The author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor