Tag Archives: Zanga-zanga Chikhosi

Malawi, Politics

PAC, ECM laud Chakwera for sacking Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi

Maravi Post Reporter

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi’s influential quasi-religious bodies – the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) and Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM)– have expressed delight at the firing of Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi.

PAC and ECM have been pressing President Lazarus Chakwera to dismiss Chikhosi from employment for alleged incompetence involvement in dubious deals, among other reasons.

Chakwera finally acted on their request on Tuesday this week.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday after returning from his official trips in Davos, Switzerland, and Guinea, President Chakwera announced that the replacement of Chikhosi with Colleen Zamba, a move that has delighted PAC.

PAC publicity secretary Bishop Gilford Matonga told The Maravi Post that by firing the former SPC, President Chakwera had demonstrated that “he is indeed a listening President.”

“We are very glad that the President has acted the way we asked him to do. This shows Chakwera is the listening President that Malawians have always wanted to have,” reacted Matonga.

On his part, ECM General Secretary Father Dr. Henry Saindi said the Catholic Bishops in Malawi are excited with Chakwera’s heeding of their call to relieve Chikhosi of his duties.

“You might recall that one of the issues of concern raised in the Bishops’ March 2022 Pastoral Letter was inefficiency of the Office of the President and Cabinet. They called on the Head of State to review performance, competency and suitability of the people manning OPC and that decisive action should be taken. ECM applaud HE for listening and acting on the Bishops’ call.

“By appointing a lady as SPC, HE has also shown that both men and women can be given equal opportunities to serve in the government in line with Gender Equality Act. We believe that the new SPC will indeed deliver based on the trust given to her by HE,” said Saindi in an interview on Thursday.

Both Matonga and Saindi said they expect Zamba to discharge her duties more professionally to ensure Malawians are the ultimate winners of the decisions made by the Tonse Alliance government.

Until her new appointment, the new SPC has been heading the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) and Chief Advisor to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and International Affairs at the State House.

For the past 12 years, Zamba has been Economic Advisor in UNDP with six years in Nigeria Country Office, four years Zambia Country Office and past one year covering Swaziland and Lesotho Country offices.

Prior to UNDP, Colleen, a macro-economist, career technocrat, has 19 years managerial and professional experience in development policy rising to Permanent Secretary cadre in Malawi Government where she served as Principal Secretary in Ministries of Finance responsible for Economic affairs, Debt and Aid where she led the exceptional negotiation of HIPIC decision Point for Malawi: Trade and Industry; Comptroller Statutory Corporations and Special Assistant in Governor’s Office, Reserve Bank of Malawi. She was Secretary for the Cabinet Committee on the Economy for six years when Democratic Malawi was born and She worked with the VVIPs including the President.

At that time, she was also in charge of Monitoring of the Malawi Economic Programme.

Zamba has acquired a wide range of experience in doing business at national and International levels, economic, trade, and debt and Aid, dealing with development partners, Government decision and Policy Makers and politicians (Cabinet).

Zamba holds formal qualifications in macroeconomics, (MPhil Economic Planning), development policy (Post Graduate Diploma in Development Policy) obtained at University of Glasgow where she was awarded best student of the year 1989 and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science (Economics) obtained at the University of Malawi.

The nature of work and responsibilities in all these employments involved application of superior networking skills, with interpersonal skills through working with Ministers of Finance, Trade, Heads of Government and State, politicians, professionals, chief executives, donors and development partners to deliver and achieve planned results.

Lifestyle, Opinion, Politics

Meet untouchable, musketeers trio in Chakwera’s Tonse admin: Chikhosi, Kapondamgaga, Mkaka

Maravi Post Reporter
Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zangazanga Chinkosi

By Nenenji Mlangeni

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-It’s abundantly becoming crystal clear that the referred “Untouchable Trio” a.k.a the “Three Musketeers” are Zanga Zanga Chikhosi (Secretary to President and Cabinet), Prince Kapondamgaga (Chief of Staff) and Eisenhower Mkaka (Minister of Foreign Affairs).

These three names are the ones which are continuously popping out, and are refusing to disappear.

One wouldn’t be far from the truth if he asserts that President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse administration is rotten from the head.

From his Nation’s address one would easily be tempted to think that Chakwera is serious and wants to clean up the mess.

State House Chief of Staff Prince Kapondangaga

Unfortunately for Chakwera, whatever endevours and strategies he will come up with the rotten head still intact, all his endeavors will yield nothing positive. It will all just be in vain.

Exposed! Malawi’s State Residences Director Kapondamgaga impunity….Buys state of the art vehicle not within his entitlement

Without mincing any words, here if Chakwera is serious about cleaning up the house, the first step is to fire Chikhosi, Kapondamgaga and Mkaka. As hard as it maybe for him to do that, it is the needful for the sake of the country.

After he is done with the head, then he should start with the body, starting with people and companies who were working with these three people.

Already, Martin Mainja has implicated Chikhosi, Kapondamgaga, Khumbize Kandodo and Nick Chakwera in the plunder of the MK97million. After the body he should target the tail – Civil Service and other areas.

Kupha nyani woba chimanga mmunda stiyang’ana nkhope. This is probably the only viable option Chakwera has, otherwise his words will just be just like that:WORDS.

Chakwera’s trusted boy Foreign Minister Mkaka

Chakwera should know that Malawians are angry and he should not undermine the boiling fury Malawians have. Waiting any much longer may one day be too late.

Busted! Why hot headed Malawi Foreign Affairs Minister Mkaka is visiting Somaliland

The president is slowly loosing public trust by being mislead by his notorious Malawi Congress Party (MCP) with old ways of silencing critics.

Politics

Malawi President Chakwera fires MEC commissioners Mathanga, Kunje; law expert says MCP obsessed with power

Maneno Chimulala

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Despite getting legal advice from law experts former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara and Sunduzwayo Madise to refer the controversial issue of the appointment of two Commissioners of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Miss Linda Kunje and Mrs  Jean Mathanga to the High Court for its opinion as to whether the recommendations from  public Appointments Committee of Parliament were in line with the Constitution and Electoral Commission Act, President Lazarus Chakwera has proceeded with a decision to fire the duo.

According to a letter signed by Secretary to the President and Cabinet, the two Commissioners have been fired on the premise that they were adjudged incompetent by the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Presidential Elections Case.

The letter further says following the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the two Commissioners’ appointment was rendered defective and did not qualify for re-appointment.

This comes just days after the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) sued the presidency for appointing four MEC commissioners and want the High Court to declare their appointment illegal.

There is already a case in court where Mathanga and Kunje sued President Chakwera and the electoral body to court demanding their appointment letters, honoraria, allowances and related benefits backdated to June 7 2020 when they were appointed.

Ironically, in August last year, Attorney General Chikosa Silungwe, who is the principal legal advisor of the government, advised government through the Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zangazanga Chikhosi to formally write appointment letters to the two.

Commissioners Mathanga and Kunje were re-appointed by former President Arthur Peter Mutharika and they were part of the MEC team that is praised for delivering a fair and credible fresh presidential election.

Meanwhile, a legal pugilism has ensued in different social media platforms with many law experts faulting the government for being “obsessed with power.”

“The problem is, if the commissioners are to sue government….the right party to be sued is the AG. In such a scenario where the AGs opinion was disregarded, how is he to defend government’s actions in court?” queried one social media user who goes by the name Agoroso.

Section 4 of the amended Electoral Commission Act of 2017 empowers parties that obtain one-tenth of the parliamentary seats submit to the President a minimum of three nominees.

Malawi

Malawi government takes u-turn on Chief Justice Nyirenda’s retirement

Maneno Chimulala
Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda is not going on leave

 BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)— The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration has overturned the decision of the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of forcing Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda to go on leave pending retirement, MaraviPost has learnt.

In a Notice signed by Chief Secretary Zanga-zanga Chikhosi, the government says Nyirenda will continue discharging his duties arguing the issue of accumulated leave days will be handled by the Judicial Service Commission.

“Government wishes to inform the general public that the Honourable Andrew A.K.C Nyirenda, SC, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Malawi has not proceeded on leave as was announced on 12 June, 2020.

“Regarding the accumulated leave days of the Honourable the Chief Justice, it is a matter between the Honourabkle the Chief Justice and the Judicial Service Commission. The Honourable the Chief Justice continues to discharge his duties as the Chief Justice of the Republic of Malawi,” reads the letter.

In February, Nyirenda led the court that annulled the 2019 re-election of Malawi President Peter Mutharika, who described the ruling as a miscarriage of justice.

Mutharika, through his secretary to cabinet, announced on June 12 that Nyirenda had reached the retirement age of 65 and would effectively proceed on leave pending his retirement due in December 2021.

Andrew  Nyirenda, born on 26 December, 1956, was appointed in March 2015 as the country’s Chief Justice.

He has a Bachelor of Laws from Chancellor College of the University of Malawi which he received in 1980 and a Masters of Laws from Hull University, England obtained in 1985.