Renowned human rights activist Undule Mwakasungula has asked President Dr Lazarus Chakwera to reshuffle his “political Cabinet” to ably steer and lead the nation to the promised land, Canaan.
Mwakasungula also said the allegations of corruption involving cabinet ministers are not only bruising his administration, but also putting to evaluate his commitment to fighting corruption in the country.
Mwakasungula made the call-in interview monitored on Rainbow Television’s Face the Nation programme, which features different prominent social commentators.
“He must reshuffle his cabinet. If fact, it has been long overdue. He needs to urgently reshuffle the current political Cabinet and bring in technocrats and strategists, who can be telling the President the truth regarding the economic pain people is experiencing,” Mwakasungula said.
He also commended the Malawi leader for incorporating Blessings Chinsinga in the Cabinet, who until his appointment as Local Government Minister, was a Professor at the University of Malawi.
Chakwera recently appointed Chinsinga and Malawi Congress Party law maker Jacob Hara as Minister of Transport and Public Works, replacing Lingson Belekanyama and Mohammad Sidik Mia, who all succumbed to COVID-19 in January 2021, respectively.
“We don’t want to see Politicians in the Cabinet. He should put together a Cabinet of technocrats, who can develop strategies to alleviate the people’s sufferings.
“Days of appeasing and appointing politicians into cabinet are long gone. It’s unfortunate Chakwera failed to fulfill the commitment he made regarding cabinet reshuffle,” he explained.
In July 2020, Chakwera promised to reshuffle his cabinet in the first quarter of 2021 and on March 29 his former Press Secretary Brian Banda told the nation that a new cabinet would be announced by March 31, 2021.
However, on March 31 Banda released a statement saying Chakwera needed a few more days before announcing a new cabinet.
Banda’s statement attracted mixed reaction with some defending the president while others condemned the President for not performing his own task, he had committed to assess and reshuffle the cabinet after six months (July 2020 – December 2020).
Zeroing on resurging demonstrations over the prohibitive cost of living, Mwakasungula said he is in support of the demonstrations, but was quick to advise the organizers, mainly Bon Kalindo to have a clear strategy of all planned demonstrations to ably serve its purpose.
He equally conceded that “the cost of living is biting people hard” and asked Chakwera and his Cabinet to start outlining what has done to alleviate the sufferings, then just jostling for visibility on social media.
“I am aware the impact of COVID-19 has affected a lot of countries and with this pandemic, government has failed to fulfill some of the promises. It’s high government officials started explaining to Malawians why Tonse Alliance government has failed to deliver,” said Mwakasungula.
Meanwhile, the Mzuzu Youth Anti-Corruption Movement Team has called on Chakwera fire the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Kezzie Msukwa who was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) over three counts of abuse of official powers.
ACB obtained a warrant of arrest from the Chief Resident Magistrate Court for Msukwa following claims that he obtained favors in form of a Mercedes Benz C-Class for the advantage of one Moses Kafunda, K4 million and another K15 million from Zuneth Sattar.
Sattar is the subject of a corruption investigation in Britain and has also been under the radar of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Msukwa is the second serving Minister to be arrested by the ACB after Energy Minister, Newton Kambala, who was arrested over NOCMA oil supply contracts saga.
