Chakwera mulls over Zamba chop calls
President Lazarus Chakwera is facing pressure from various stakeholders including the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) to decide the future of Secretary to President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba.
During a recent meeting in Lilongwe with Chakwera, PAC, a quasi-religious body, argued that despite the euphoria over her appointment last year as SPC, the civil service is in no better state than it was before her appointment.
PAC chairperson Monsignor Patrick Thawale last Tuesday outlined complaints to Chakwera on some civil service appointments, recruitments and postings by the SPC being un-procedural and partisans.
“From reliable sources, it looks like some appointments made by the Secretary to the President and Cabinet do not fall within her powers, and in many cases with questionable skills.
“There has also been appointment of principal secretaries [PSs] from outside civil service who may not have skills on such positions.
“Coupled with postings of competent officers to other ministries in a bid to create room for MCP sympathisers, several principal secretaries, directors, deputy directors and even officers of lower ranks are disgruntled to the extent that your government cannot achieve the desired service delivery,” he said.
In response to our questionnaire, presidential press secretary Anthony Kasunda said on Friday that Chakwera is exercising patience on the matter, benefiting from a wealth of advisory sources.
He said: His Excellency [President Lazarus Chakwera] exercises strategic patience, benefiting from a wealth of advisory sources.
“This deliberate approach allows the President ample time to reflect on the advice received and take into account various factors before making any decisions.”
Zamba was yet to respond to our questions before we went for print.
According to Thawale, ‘irregular recruitments’ made outside the approved establishment and approved budget, are leading to a ballooned layers of PSs and directors and even junior staff.
“In a bid to refresh the lean Cabinet, the leadership at the helm of OPC would be replaced following allegations of poor recruitments, appointments and postings but not forgetting how interdiction of ACB Director General damaged her reputation.
“We are aware that the leadership is well qualified but may not suit the current position,” he emphasised.
In an interview, Centre for Social Transparency and Accountability executive director Willy Kambwandira said the problem lies with the system and the appointing authority.
“We have created a political system that gives more power to the SPC, creating a fertile ground for corruption, fraud and abuse of power. The office of the SPC has become immune from accountability, and the President too appears powerless.
“We all know that Section 194 of the Constitution says no person shall be appointed, elected or designated to more than one board, yet the President appoints the SPC into several boards. Let us correct the system instead of dealing with individual SPCs,” he said.
On his part, governance and public expenditure tracking expert Mavuto Bamusi said the matter signals entrenchment of bureaucratic impunity and failure of public sector reforms.
Zamba replaced Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi, who was fired on June 1 2022.
Demands to have Chikhosi removed as SPC were first made public eight months into his appoinment in February 2021, barely eight months after his appointment, by a splinter group of Malawi Congress Party, a key partner in the governing Tonse Alliance, asked Chakwera to fire him and some State Residences employees.
The SPC is the head of the public service and chief adviser of the President on public service operations.
