Dr Mkwezalamba is real deal, but…

President Joyce Banda’s choice of Dr. Maxwell Mlwezalamba as new Minister of Finance was spot on, at least in my view. There could not have been any better choice than such an internationally respected economist.

Personally, I came to know Dr. Mkwezalamba as an accomplished Malawian economist in the early 2000s when he served as principal secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (EP&D). He was also a founding member of the Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) and served as its first president between 1998 and 2000.

Thereafter, Mkwezalamba went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he picked up a job as African Union (AU) commissioner for economic affairs in May 2004, a position he held until the end of his contract on March 27 this year.

Besides the AU assignment and his role as PS at EP&D, Mkwezalamba had served in various capacities in Malawi and in the United States of America, including portifolios such as macroeconomist at the World Bank’s Malawi Country Office (2003 to 2004) and as country economist at the World Bank in Washington DC.

My heartfelt congratulations Dr. Mkwezalamba on your appointment as Minister of Finance!

However, bwana Mkwezalamba is coming to the Ministry of Finance at a rather tricky time, when the ministry is making headlines for mismanagement of funds, including looting of public funds, dubious payments to individuals and firms with no contracts with government.

In a nutshell, there is a lot of rot and mismanagement which Mkwezalamba will have to sweep and help the economy retain the confidence of both taxpayers and the international community.

Following Mkwezalamba’s appointment, many commentators, especially on the social network, are asking whether he is the ‘magician’, so to speak, to turn around Malawi’s economy?

There are several views on this, but one thing that is standing out, is the fact that one man cannot fight a dozen. He will need the support of all and sundry to take the economy to the promised land of milk and honey.

While I am happy for him, somehow, for a technocrat of Mkwezalamba’s caliber, with a very enviable reputation to protect, I have reservations with his joining the political fray. My fears stem from similar situations that befell his fellow professionals before him, such as current Press Corporation Limited group chief executive officer Dr Matthews Chikaonda and Mzimba North Member of Parliament Goodall Gondwe.

Chikaonda, then governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, was appointed Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in 2000 by president Bakili Muluzi ,whereas Goodall was the late Bingu wa Mutharika’s first and longest-serving Minister of Finance from 2004.

I recall Chikaonda’s 10-point plan which, among other things, centred on running government as a business. The 10-point plan stressed the need for adherence to budget allocations, closure of ‘mini Treasuries’ and intensifying efforts to improve expenditure management through the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (Mtef) if the country was to achieve economic growth, commodity price stabilisation and create jobs.

Goodall, with his International Monetary Fund (IMF) and African Development Bank (AfDB) background, also came in as the magic wand for the country’s economy. He presided over the Ministry of Finance at the time Malawi qualified for debt relief. It was under Goodall as Minister of Finance that the country also achieved some of the highest economic growth rates in recent years.

Sadly, however, both Chikaonda and Goodall fell out of favour for believing in what they thought was for the good of their country. They lacked the much needed support at the highest level.

Mkwezalamba’s arrival at the Ministry of Finance has come at a rather tricky time when there are only seven or so months to the 2014 Tripartite Elections when governments tend to engage in free-for-all spending to woo voters.

If commissioner Mkwezalamba is to leave his mark, he will need political will at the highest level i.e. from President Joyce Banda herself. Minus that, then the sentiments that Mkwezalamba’s choice is good but the timing, with elections around the corner on May 20 2014, is bad will come to pass.

Welcome on board Dr Mkwezalamba!