Cabinet has made some achievements
President Peter Mutharika has for the first time since he became President reshuffled his Cabinet. ALBERT SHARRA caught up with Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) national secretary Chris Chisoni to give his views on the reshuffle.
Q: President Mutharika has made some changes to his Cabinet just a month before clocking a year in office. Were you expecting it?
A: I think the Cabinet reshuffle has come as a suprise to many but it is obvious that a President can turn around his team in the Executive for his best combination possible at any given time. Probably, after some time, President Mutharika has noticed that he needs some skills in different spheres of government as such within Cabinet, such skills are already there just needing shuffling around and not hiring new faces or firing any.
Q: Three ministers Atupele Muluzi, Paul Chibingu and Bright Msaka have been changed from one ministry to another. Do you think the changes are justifiable?
A : As already alluded to above, the President has seen the need; hence, it is hard for us to justify when there are no reasons publicly provided for the action. So, it is only until the President shares with the nation the specific reasons that influenced him to move some ministers from one ministry to another that we can analyse the decision and give our views.
Q: How can you assess the performance of the Cabinet so far?
A : The Cabinet has been working and has been delivering on a number of areas. We think in the eight months it has been operating, there are achievements worth mentioning. However, there are also more steps to be realised. What I can say is that the Cabinet must not work in isolation, but in totality with the government machinery. So, what I can say at the moment is that any assessment on this must be contextual.
Q: Looking at the Cabinet, apart from the three, what other ministries do you think need a shake up?
A: This is a hard to answer question because we have not done any assessment. We need to do some objective assessment on the Cabinet. Until this is done, we will not be able to analyse their performance.
Q: President Mutharika has maintained a 20-member Cabinet which he designed to save public money. Do you think the system is working efficiently?
A: The 20-member Cabinet can achieve a lot. It is a great step for Malawi and it is a stepping stone to better benefits for the country. By reducing the number of ministers from over 30 which we have had in the past to only 20 is already, in my considered view, a critical step towards efficiency and effectiveness in government. So, I cannot hesitate to say the system is viable because we are looking at the advantages of the system. Another issue we can consider is the amount of money this system is saving. Government earlier said over K1 billion will be saved per year with this lean Cabinet and if this is being realised, then we can praise the decision.
Q: If you were a presidential advisor, what advice would you give the President on his Cabinet as he begins his second year in office next month?
A: There are several issues we can discuss, but most critical and relevant is the approach to the disasters that continue to befall Malawi almost every year now.
Malawi has been greatly affected by natural disasters such as floods. In turn the floods bring drought. These issues needa urgent attention and long-term solution. It is important for government to focus on the recovery programme. This should be supported by a recovery national budget. We can do politics as in campaigning in 2018 or 2019.
Q: Any last comment?
A: It is time Malawians remember the national discourse on the road to 2014
Tripartite Elections. The independent development commission, the respect to the rule of law, separation of powers and stopping the abuse of public funds were central to the elections discussions. Malawi at 50, or now at 51, must be another Malawi.
