Next Wednesday all roads will lead to – and all eyes will be trained on – the Bingu International Conference Centre as President Peter Mutharika unveils the seminal reforms his administration wants to institute in the civil/public service.
Peter strategically put his trusty deputy, Saulos Chilima, to front the reforms. Angoni, coming from the results-oriented private sector, was not a bad choice.
I am not sure how the Saulos Commission has gotten around the – if I may be allowed to dub them thus – ‘counter reform’ suggestion to tie some public appointments to the tenure of the presidency. This, if carried through, will certainly defeat the whole essence of public reforms.
Some of these institutions we want to tie to the presidency were created by the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. I am talking about the Malawi Defence Forces, the Malawi Police Service, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation et cetera. These reforms must not begin to make these very important institutions ‘political’ organs rather than organs of the state.
Saulos and his commissioners have been meeting various stake-holders on the proposed reforms. I know any government blue-print has pre-set goals; consultations are there just to perfect them.
But I hope the Saulos Commission has noted the serious reservations the suggestions to attach certain public offices to the president’s tenure attracted.
