It is impossible to limit President’s travel—BJ
Malawi’s Minister of Information and Civic Education, Brown Mpinganjira, says it is impossible for government to limit the President’s local travel.
He said even if the presidency changed, there would still be some movements in the President’s office which people would have to accept.
Mpinganjira said this on Monday in Lilongwe during a press briefing which he held in conjunction with Minister of Finance Maxwell Mkwezalamba.
Mpinganjira said the President is mindful of measures to limit public officers’ travel. He said the President has good intentions to see to it that the measures are a success.
“Let me clarify that the President is not refusing to cut local travel, but she is saying that she will only make critical travels.
“The President has the welfare of her people at heart and she will do whatever it takes to see that the travel measures are a success,” said Mpinganjira.
The minister hinted that since the announcement of suspension of foreign and local travels, the President has cancelled some trips.
He added that most of the trips the President made lately were motivated by requests from the people who wish to make contact with her.
In his remarks, Mkwezalamba said people should not only focus on the travel suspension, but should also look at other things that have also been suspended.
“We have suspended a lot of projects in the civil service and it is only fair to comment on those also instead of focusing on the travel suspension only,” he said.
He also said the President’s movements could not be fully controlled because, at the end of the day, she still has a duty to fulfil to the public.
The Ministry of Finance recently announced the suspension of foreign and local travels by public officers following the withholding of aid by some of the country’s development partners.
