BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—As president Lazarus Chakwera has reduced vehicles on his convoy to only 10, Malawians were shocked on Wednesday to see cabinet ministers Sidik Mia and Lobin Lowe being escorted by 27 and 28 vehicles respectively on their duty tour in the Southern region.
Minister of Transport Mia had an entourage of 27 vehicles as he was inspecting the Thyolo-Muona road while Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe had about 28 vehicles on his duty tour in the Lower Shire.
It is estimated that most of the vehicles consume between 70 to 90 litres to fill their voluminous tanks.
The development comes as President Chakwera and his vice Chilima are championing public sector reforms, aimed at reducing unnecessary expenditure while ensuring efficiency.
President Chakwera reduced the number of vehicles on his convoy to 10 and maintain the vehicles which were used by former President Peter Mutharika as one of the measures to ensure that tax payers’ funds are not wasted.
He also said that he expects cabinet ministers to introduce measures aimed at reducing government spending.
According to Chakwera, the aim is to reduce wastage of resources and reduce the amount of public funds used by people in public positions.
Malawians will obviously wait for a reaction from Chakwera to the lavishness displayed by the two senior cabinet ministers.
Apart from being a cabinet minister, Sidik Mia is also the Vice President of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP).