Are you confused as much as I am?
On Monday June 23 2014, I opened a newspaper and one title of a story caught my eye. The story read: “Govt urged to prioritise maternal health”. Nothing strange about such a story. But, wait. National coordinator for presidential initiative on safe motherhood Dorothy Ngoma has asked the new government to prioritise maternal health, saying what has already been achieved should not be lost. She was further quoted as saying, regarding Peter Mutharika’s Nation Address: “I know the Nation Address was for all government activities, but the president could have done justice to a Malawian mother by giving hints on how he wants to promote the health of women. We have been on track and managed to reduce maternal deaths. I hope that, at the same place, we can achieve more.”
If you have not understood why I am confused, I will explain. Mrs. Ngoma was introduced in this story as national coordinator for presidential initiative on safe motherhood. Was she not supposed to be the president’s advisor? How come she was not advising and fearing that the president would not do what was right? Had she been fired yet? If she was no longer the president’s advisor, how come she was being referred to as the national coordinator? Am I asking wrong questions here?
I was also mortified when I read that the president had directed, yes, directed that his predecessor should be bought new vehicles. How was I mortified? Because I also read that this was a gesture that should be interpreted as the proverbial “olive branch”. Joyce Banda earned the vehicles and if these be bought, it should never be interpreted as any branch being shared, shown or waved. Further, I was concerned that this action should need a presidential directive. Talk about reforming the civil service. I would suggest reforming the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) itself. Buying two vehicles is so mundane that any office superintendent should originate the idea. Please, do not bog down the president with small things. He does not even need to know about someone being bought two vehicles, which are entitled to them. In fact, did we really have to know that government had bought two Toyota VX V8 vehicles? Was it prudent that we be told that the president’s time was used for this activity? Don’t you have an internal procurement committee at State House to be dealing with these issues?
Let me take the remaining time to congratulate a few people whose gods have smiled on them. Firstly, congratulations to the President for getting what he had always wanted. It must be sweeter now. If President Bingu wa Mutharika was alive and Peter became president, accusations would have been rife that it was the older brother who forced the younger sibling on us. Peter was selected by the DPP in the absence of Bingu. Congratulations to my friend Commissioner of Police Duncan Mwapasa who has come back as Presidential Guard Commander. Congratulations to the Right Honourable Saulos Chilima. I wish I knew what is going on in your mind day in day out
