Political and legal minds have said that while the Constitution does not limit the President to delegate chores to the Vice-President, bypassing the Veeps and opting for Cabinet ministers is morally wrong.
Former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Fahad Assan, who was part of the drafting of the country’s Constitution, said Malawi’s politics is very transactional.
thinks it is ‘Boma’. | Nation
In an interview, he said: “I recall that during the United Democratic Front [UDF] government, there was a proposal to amend the Constitution so that the President can remove the vice-president. I personally intervened.
“A President and Vice-President both contribute to the votes. But now it’s like, as they say, it’s use and dump. That is constitutionally and morally wrong.”
University of Malawi (Unima) law professor Garton Kamchedzera in a separate interview observed that political leaders and their supporters conflate matters of State (dziko), government (Boma) and party (chipani) with the party thinking that it is Boma.
He said: “The Vice-President is chosen, not because she/he has a high status and power in the party, but as a servant to help win votes.
“However, the Constitution regards the Vice-President as legal successor and Number Two to the President. That is against the interests of those who think they are in families or cliques that think that they own the President as a tool to access power and resources.”
Private practice lawyer Bright Theu also hinted through his Facebook post that delegating a minister when the Vice-President is around contravenes protocol.
He opined: “The political optics of hierarchy for the Vice-President, and/or some general expectation/assumption that the Vice-President takes charge or must appear to be in charge whenever the President is unable to.
“Unfortunately, such disregard of protocol feeds right into a political environment addicted to the spectacle of political division and chaos as capital for undermining political opponents at the next ballot.”
Human rights lawyer Justin Dzonzi said everything that needs saying on the VP has already been said, noting: “We cannot bend the law to fit political idiosyncratic tendencies.”
Matter too political
For Boniface Dulani, associate professor of political science at Unima, this trend is a carry-over from the one-party days of founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who never had a deputy during his nearly 30-year tenure.
He said when the individuals fail to work together, it means the presidency is incomplete and the citizens are shortchanged in terms of leadership.
“Effectively, the country pays for two [or, in the current case, three] officers occupying the presidency office and yet only benefits from one. This translates into inefficiencies and loss of scarce public resources,” he said.
While Cabinet ministers and their deputies continue criss-crossing the country, First Vice-President (FVP) Jane Ansah and Second Vice-President (SVP) Enoch Chihana have remained grounded since January with the former being stripped of her two major roles.
Of late, President Peter Mutharika has been preferring delegating ministers to represent him in some engagement, with Capital Hill stressing that the decision is in line with austerity measures as when the two offices, they spend more than what Cabinet ministers do.
Under Section 89 (6) of the Constitution “the powers and functions of the President shall be exercised by him or her personally or by a member of the Cabinet or by a government official to whom the President has delegated such power in writing”.
