I have a confession to make.
I had written what I considered a very good article filled with plaudits and praise for that speech that President Chakwera delivered on his inauguration. What a speech that was on that cold 6th July Independence Day morning! As a matter of fact, everything on that day was perfect, from the guest list to the dressing, to the colorful and fashionable masks in this COVID-19 period. COVID-19 is real, and it is serious. We need to take it seriously and keep safe.
My confession is that I have had to throw the original article I wrote into the bin. As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Dr Chakwera promised a delicious pudding in words, but, it appears, delivered poison from his administrative kitchen.
The speech offered so much hope to all of us and the instant national unification it promised was a breath of fresh air after the putrid garbage that had heretofore been delivered by the DPP administration. On Wednesday evening though, our hopes were dashed, our dreams shattered as we all tried to comprehend the choices of personnel in president Chakwera’s first cabinet.
Trust me I have never seen Malawians protesting to the President’s prerogative with so much anger and disapproval as it was observed on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Not even late Bingu wa Mutharika, nor Peter Mutharika, with their Lomwe propensities received such strong disapproval.
The reason in my opinion, is very simple, Chakwera raised the bar of expectation so high that Malawians – yes, including yours truly, as stated in last week’s treatise on this column – expected something special, something extraordinarily good.
Make no mistake about this. The choice of who should be in the governing cabinet is the president’s prerogative given to him by the constitution. However, social media has taught us a different story – that Malawians are watching and want the best for their country. Even the international community has applauded Malawi’s activism as one of the best, so perhaps President Chakwera should have kept this in mind?
So, what has gone wrong with Dr Chakwera’s first cabinet? And is there a way in which in spite of this obvious mistake and demonstration of poor judgment there can still be hope of the change that Malawians want?
First, what went wrong. Malawians have already been through regimes that ruled on the basis of tribal and family loyalties. They expected better. What they got from President Chakwera was the same old, same old. Families relations, spouses, brothers and sisters, cousins and in laws, sons and daughters of friends and leaders have dominated the cabinet. Party sponsors, Lilongwe district and the Chewa tribe have dominated the cabinet. You can add on all the other cries.
To someone like me, so in love with Dr. Chakwera ‘s promises of change and hope, this seems already like the ultimate betrayal. I had so much hope for the president and his running mate. They run a beautiful campaign, they united us as Malawians with one hope and one aspiration for prosperity, and the speeches were simply superb.
And then BOOM! The Cabinet comes….
I must admit just like all Malawians am also wondering what happened. As prior to this cabinet list we had many other “lists”, I actually thought this was one of those fake lists made by individuals with aspirations and schemes to influence the president to appoint certain individuals. I really thought this was probably another prank. But then MBC announced it and confirmed it was genuine. I am still hoping that perhaps it was all a mistake!
In times like these, the natural side of me wants to vent and ejaculate my disapproval just like everyone else. After all, when you have two or three families dominating a government cabinet, there is enough there for one to think that the president is probably already captured and has no choice but to beat to the drumming of those families.
But I will control my natural side of prophesying doom and try to look at the issue more soberly. You see, fellow Malawians, Cabinet has its role. Along with the President, cabinet ministers form the main decision-making group within executive government.—.
A Cabinet minister’s role includes advising the president, directing government policy at department level and making decisions about national issues. Cabinet ministers discuss current problems and how these can be solved, and also at times present bills to parliament departments.
So what leaves me with some hope in spite of this very strange and unjustifiable cabinet list is that we have the nerve/engine of productivity and action in Malawi. The Civil Service along with the various parastatal agencies. These really are the engine room for productivity and where the action will happen. In spite of the presence of cabinet ministers with questionable merit, if Dr Chakwera and Dr Chilima can get this right, not only will this make The Cabinet shine but it will also make sure that we make our private sector vibrant. The 1million jobs will be a reality, the fertilizer subsidy becomes real, the Tax reduction is implemented and above all we will have our three meals a day because we will have production increased in all sectors and at house hold level.
Regardless of dubious CV’s and undeserving appointees, if our Civil service or top parastatal officers will conduct their business and behave like our very own MEC chair Justice Chifundo Kachale and the 5 judges of the high court, or the supreme court judges, then we may yet have hope. This, then is really the crucial area to measure the Chakwera Administration.
This while it would be easy to join the bandwagon and criticize I have decided to assist the president on the ways through which he can salvage the situation;
- Civil service
Mr President, for the people to forget the bitter dish that you have served with this cabinet, you will need to be more vigilant and scrutinize carefully who heads our ministries on the technical side. Are the people competent? Are they objective? Much as I would love to see the CVs of the current cabinet members, as a tax payer I am more interested in the CVs of the many PSs and Directors in our ministries. These controlling officers are what will tell the story. Already the appointment of Dr Wilson Banda at the Reserve Bank is a great choice. I hope he won’t disappoint. I know Mr John Biziwick is qualified to head MRA in spite of the publicized family connections. So, in this regard, fare enough although personally I do not believe in bringing people back from retirement as though no one else can do the job. Nevertheless, John Bizwick aint bad and I am sure he will not disappoint.
- The Parastatals
Mr President, my sincere hope is that you will allow the Vice president to put together a team that will be a force to be reckoned with and one that will produce and not be government dependent on account number one. The people to head these parastatals will not only help us in revenue collection but help in driving the private sector which remains the engine of development. Our very capable Veep, I will definitely ask my Catholic friends to always include you on their Rosary prayer items. Khumi limodzi lidzikhala lanu. You need divine intervention because these parastatals are always abused by politicians and you might be the only one – if you can seal this – to gain peoples’ confidence. With the right people heading the parastatals, we will see money circulating in Malawi up to the house hold levels and the 3 meals a day will become a reality. The Parastatals still remain our residual hope.
- Political cleansing
Finally, and thinking aloud here, when all is said and done, this first cabinet could be a good process of political cleansing because there could be a great process of checks and balances, and possibly it is these appointments that will provide a way to catch all those that have greed and plunder in mind instead of helping the president realize the dreams enunciated so robustly in that powerful speech on 6th July.
