David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. — 1 Samuel 17:45
Honorable Catherine Gotani Hara on Wednesday made history when she ascended to the highly sought after Speaker’s seat in the House of Parliament. It is with great joy hearty congratulation ring out and resound throughout Malawi and the rest of the Southern Africa region to Hon CGH as she ascends into history as Malawi’s first woman Speaker of Parliament.
The new Madame Speaker according to a Malawi The Nation news clip, has a Bachelor of Social Science degree (Political Science) from Chancellor College, a post-graduate degree inPostgraduate Degree International Development and Project Planning and Management, University of Brighton (UK). She was a Programme Officer, Department for International Development (DFID) before she won a seat becoming the Member of Parliament for Mzimba North East (2009 to 2014). During that time, she served as Minister of Health, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs, Deputy Minister of Gender and Deputy Minister of Transport.
It is about time a woman ascends to this auspicious position and we wish Madame CGH great success in executing her duties as the Leader of one of the three arms of the Government.
During Wednesday’s vote, the House also elected Independent MP Madalitso Kazombo to the seat of Deputy Speaker; the Second Deputy Speaker seat was won by UDF’s Aisha Adams.
On the coattails of this historic event, Chief Secretary to the Office of the President issued a press release announcing President Mutharika’s 18-member cabinet, and six-member deputy minister appointments. Of the 18 ministers two are women, namely Mary Thom Navicha and Martha Mhone Chanja; the deputies are Esther Majaza, Martha Ngwira, and Grace Kwelepeta.
While congratulations are in order for the few women that made the list, concern is voiced that not enough is being done to get more women to share in the running of the executive branch of our government.
However a bigger battle to contend with here is the issue of Members of Parliament doubling up as cabinet ministers. Needless to say, a cabinet position is a position on the executive arm of the Government. This issue was first brought to the fore by Justice Mwaungulu, who in one of his rulings, introduced the challenges facing Malawi’s young democracy. He had argued then that (sic) cabinet ministers should be taken from outside the Parliament, because to be a parliamentarian and cabinet minister meant that someone was holding two government positions.
The captains of our democracy appeared to have Okayed this doubling in our political sphere, and successive administrations have used this doubling of roles with the executive branch benefitting from having persons serving on its cabinet also serve in parliament.
This doubling of legislative and executive roles is especially crucial to be resurfaced because with rampant buying or votes, manipulating of officers in numerous sections of our governing structures, Malawi’s democracy model is failing in the separation of powers of the arms of Government.
As the executive branch of government continues to fish its ministers from the legislative branch, it entwines in an arm-lock of sorts, complicating the independence of the other.
It is hereto being advised that cabinet ministers should not be picked from the parliamentary roll. Let parliamentarians concentrate on their role of legislating, that is making laws; while the cabinet implements the laws. The positioning of parliamentarians conflicts their role as law makers, vice versa.
As the wise proverb states you cannot serve two masters. The Legislative Leader is the Speaker, while the Executive Leader is the President.
As conflicting of roles are concerned, the time has come that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chair should be picked from other sectors of our society. In the past, appointing a High Court justice worked well, when there was no interference with the working of the election regulator. In the last two elections however, massive overt executive branch interference, coupled with ruling political party manipulations, in the elections result call led Justice Maxon Mbendela (late) make the result while in tears; in the recent result call, MEC Chair Dr. Jane Ansah called results while there were 147 complaints (madando) plus a Constitutional Court case challenging the results.
In this recent election, people nationwide have gone onto the streets in protest, especially numerous tally sheets are showing up with Tippexed figures and alterations that do not match the duplicates or triplicates. While the MEC Chair may not have had a hand in the dealings, the reputation of a Justice of the Court of Appeals of the country has been put to the stake.
It remains to be seen how and where the court case turns out. This is some sure egg-she’ll walking exercise. It also shows how the executive branch has reached its tentacles to touched the remaining branch of our government.
When Malawian delegates converged in 1995 at the conference center at the New State House (now known as Kamuzu Palace), we envisaged and drafted into the Democratic Constitution to be the Presidential model, complete with a Parliament, Executive, and Judiciary branches of the Government. These would be endowed separate, but equal powers.
It is absolutely undemocratic that the executive branch of the Malawi Government has elevated itself above the two other branches, and has usurped the powers of the Legislative branch by hand picking its members of Parliament giving them plush executive statuses.
This must stop.
The tendency of using justices in executive-controlled positions such as the MEC, must stop. Also to be halted is the political maneuvering of Constitutionally instituted structures such as the MACRA, MRA, Office of the Ombudsman, and others. These were set up for the benefit of all Malawians, not just the ruling political party.
There is no question of Malawi ever degenerating to the one party state. Malawi is a democracy. May all Malawians insist upon and defend our democratic dispensation.
Long live genuine democracy!
