Borrow leaf from APM, Zikhale on crisis response

Esteemed statesmen and women, charity, as they say, is a dominant force in the lives of millions of underprivileged people who simply consider themselves insignificant to society just because they struggle to make ends meet each passing day.

This is why I was moved when Homeland Security Minister Ken Zikhale Ng’oma—while inspecting the damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Chilobwe Township in Blantyre a fortnight ago—pledged to donate his entire K1.5 million salary for March 2023 to victims of the storm, which also claimed the lives of at least 85 men, women and children from the township.

Ng’oma was among the many Cabinet ministers who dashed to Blantyre and other Southern Region districts just after cyclone Freddy’s devastation to examine its shocking damage to the lives of people, infrastructure and other property while President Lazarus Chakwera was outside the country for international duties.

And almost a week after making his promise to the people of Chilobwe in the presence of traditional leaders, Zikhale Ng’oma did not delay fulfilling it. A few days ago, he went back to Chilobwe to hand over the money and also dished out about K200 thousand cash to the victims at Naotcha Primary School camp in the township.

Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who was visiting the camp on this day, also pledged K3 million on top of what Zikhale Ng’oma donated, bringing the total amount to K4.5 million. I also know that some ministers, government officials, politicians and other well-wishers have also assisted scores of victims in cash and kind, which is commendable.

Now, I admire Zikhale’s gesture (to sacrifice his whole monthly salary for March) more than what the Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba did by creating a special fund for civil servants whom she also asked to fill up by contributing money meant to help Freddy survivors.

According to a memo issued by Zamba recently, the contributions range from K150 000 for those in top positions to something like K2 000 or less for those who earn less. She also asked government employees to contribute foodstuffs, clothes, and other items to lessen the challenges faced by the survivors.

Of course, I commend Zamba for her initiative bearing in mind that (1) she is the head of the civil service, (2) the government employs more Malawians than any other institution hence such a call would attract a concrete response all things being equal and (3) the gravity of the damage triggered by Freddy in the 13 districts in Southern Malawi was just out of this world.

Again, the ensuing desperation among thousands of survivors seeking temporary shelter in camps and or homes is equally devastating.

Nevertheless, the patriotic statesman in me tells me Zamba’s logic is not adding up, especially when I remember that barely three years ago, her predecessor in a similar memo informed Malawians that former president Peter Mutharika decided to cut his salary and that of his entire Cabinet by half to support the government-led national response to the Covid-19 pandemic that was killing scores of citizens each passing day then.

Around the same period, Chilima also told Malawians that he had committed his three-month salary (I guess you know how much) towards the same national fight against the coronavirus.

Even now, Malawi needs more money to cushion cyclone Freddy survivors and in my opinion, Zamba’s memo should have made more sense if she told us how much the Office of President and Cabinet deducted from the President, Vice-President, Cabinet ministers and Deputy Cabinet ministers as a starting point before begging for donations from civil servants.

And someone please remind me again; what was the point for Zamba to attach monetary values to the contributions from volunteers in those different categories? Certainly, this gave a different sense apart from oversimplifying matters as might have been intended.

If I had the opportunity to meet Zamba’s boss today, I would tell him to borrow a leaf from Mutharika’s handling of Cabinet salaries during the Covid-19 pandemic. Those funds made a very big difference in supporting national efforts to manage the crisis.

Otherwise, ‘forcing’ people to make donations has the potential to attract a backlash as it turned out recently following Zamba’s memo.