Chilima outlines public service reforms plans
The Public Service Reform Commission has announced the long-awaited plans for the civil service which include constitutional legislation that the size of the Cabinet should not be more than 25, including the President and the Vice-President.
Malawi Vice-President Saulos Chilima unveiled the highlights in Lilongwe yesterday when the commission he heads released a preliminary report of its work before theDecember 31 2014 deadline.
He said the decision to embark on legal reforms was arrived at after noting that there was unregulated establishment of ministries and departments and the perception that there was political interference in the appointment and termination of contracts for public servants.
The constitutional and legal reforms would mean that the positions of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Chief Secretary to the Government, Inspector General of Police, Secretary to the Treasury and the director-general of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, among others, would follow the presidential tenure of office.
The legislation changes would also provide more autonomy to commercial parastatals such as Escom to operate like companies and enter joint ventures.
Chilima said the commission also identified 16 pieces of legislation to be given priority at the next meeting of Parliament, among them, Public Service Act and Public Service Remuneration Board Bill.
The fate of excess principal secretaries (PSs)following the reduction of ministries to 20 will also be known after irrelevant posts are deleted and some PSs are redeployed.
“There will be [a] reduction in the number of Principal Secretaries by 56 from the current 96 to 40. This exercise will be done by deleting irrelevant portfolios, redeploying some PSs and exiting those that may not be required within the system. A decent one-off exit package will be offered,” Chilima said.
The commission also recommended the deletion of irrelevant positions in the civil service to be undertaken after filling the 40 percent vacancy rate that currently exists.
