‘Cabinet reshuffle principle Is effective leadership’
Last week President Peter Mutharika reshuffled his cabinet. This came hot on the heels of his announcing new commissioners of the Malawi Human Rights Commission. Our Reporter ALBERT SHARRA caught up with Happy Kayuni, Associate Professor and head of Political and Administrative studies department at the University of Malawi, Chancellor College to give his views on the appointments and other related issues.
Q
: President Mutharika has reshuffled his cabinet. What are some of the fundamentals that are considered for a cabinet reshuffle?
A
: One of the fundamental principles is to ensure that there is effective leadership in each ministry that facilitates service delivery. In other words, the President has to ensure that there is a proper match between the capabilities of the minister concerned and effective service delivery. Sometimes it is due to political reasons such as some ministers not being in political favour of the President and, therefore, the leader hires in their place those who are deemed to be politically well aligned to them. In other words, it is called political appeasement. In some cases, ministerial changes are merely meant to ensure that ministers gain more experience in the government structure as they get expose to different ministries.
Q
: Looking at the recent cabinet reshuffle, do you think Mutharika was guided by these fundamentals?
A
: While not totally ignoring the political reasons, I think the main reason for this recent reshuffle is the quest for the president to ensure that there is effective leadership in each ministry. This is the case as we have noted that those who were informally deemed not to be effective ministers have not retained their positions and a few others have been rotated.
Q
: This is the third time Mutharika has shaken the cabinet. In each of the cabinet changes, Atupele Muluzi is moved to another ministry. What do you make of this?
A
: Muluzi is key in consolidating the working relationship between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the United Democratic Front (UDF); hence, he cannot just be dropped from cabinet, except in very unique circumstances. Moving him from one ministry to another may either entail that he is deemed a non-performer and the President is looking for a match for his capabilities or it is a training strategy of exposing him to the wider government systems.
Q
: Mutharika has maintained a lean cabinet of 20 adopted as cost-cutting measure. As the country saves some resources, what are some of the ups and downs you have noticed over a year with this lean cabinet?
A
: A lean cabinet is the way to go for not only developing, but even developed countries. I personally don’t see many problems associated with this. In fact, this move was long overdue. We cannot afford a huge cabinet when we are pursuing reforms in the public sector which emphasises efficiency and effectiveness. One way of ensuring that there is efficiency and effectiveness is to remove overlaps which emerge from a huge undefined public sector.
Q
: In a related development, Mutharika has appointed seven commissioners for the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), a move that has been criticized heavily by gender and human rights activists who are arguing that the president erred by appointing six men against one female. What do you say?
A
: Gender equality has now increasingly become one key indicator of good governance. MHRC is one of the key institutions to enhance governance in this country. Consequently, I strongly agree with the voice of these key stakeholders who are arguing that the president has not done well by appointing only one female in a team of seven. I believe the president could have done a better job on this.
Q
: Mutharika is one of the African presidents that go round preaching about promoting women empowerment, but as argued by gender and human rights activists, his appointments both for cabinet and commissioners does not represent his women empowerment sermon. What do you think is the reason?
A
: As already mentioned, gender equality is a central feature in good governance. It is an issue which is easily picked on by many local and international stakeholders and more importantly, we have many qualified women in the country who need to be considered for these key positions. Politically speaking, making gender-balanced appointments not only enhances the government’s image, but also demonstrates that the government is inclusive and responsive. What the president has done is a reflection of the wider socio-political culture in the country which has over the years systematically undermined the contribution of women to development of this country.
Q
: If you were asked to advise the president on making appointments, what would you say?
A
: It is well-known that political appeasement has been the major driving factor in most appointments. I think our president has to a larger extent tried to focus on capability or performance if we look at the recent appointments he has made, but we still have a long way to go before we finally achieve a realistic objective approach which is divorced from political appeasement.
I strongly encourage our president to focus on objective appointments because Malawi has a number of well-qualified people who have never been given an opportunity to fully realise their potential.
Q
: Any additional comments?
A
: Let us fully support the ministers that the president has appointed because they are serving the nation—their success is our success. I should also mention that a critical appraisal is also part of support and should be taken positively by those in authority. n
