Position of power must be earned

According to the recently announced Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) calendar, Presidential re-run elections will be held on July 2 2020.

Meanwhile, President Peter Mutharika has appointed a new Cabinet which is believed to be his winning team. But the President calls his new Cabinet as inclusive to develop Malawi.

The anomaly here is that he has had most of the ministers for the past six years and the development they have brought is very obscure. Then how come they will bring meaningful development in the three months?

In the same vein, there have been many Cabinet reshuffles, with no benefits to the people of Malawi but to the appointed individuals. For example, sharing the spoils of government through lucrative business contracts as well as perfecting the abuse of public resources by learning how to convert public resources into personal fortunes.

Experience has also shown that Cabinet ministers seem to be basically there to support the appointing authority. Any member showing that he deserves the post and that he is in the Cabinet because of his capabilities, he is quickly shown the exit door.

Members who want to survive in the position have to follow the unwritten laws of sheepishly towing the line of the President of which they might not know where it is leading them up to. Above all, members should take the appointments as a favour.

In the recent Cabinet appointments, there have been a record broken and history made. One of the would-be Cabinet minister Henry Chimunthu Banda, who is a former speaker of Parliament, has made a record by turning down ministerial appointment.

It is alleged that he was not consulted before the appointment and that he only heard his name being mentioned on the radio. If this is true the appointing authority lacked respect. It is very wrong to assume that every Malawian will rush to grab an appointment even if not consulted about it before. It goes without saying that people will always have other things to do which are equally important in their lives.

If Malawi is to progress, there is need for a Cabinet which can deliver. Naturally, Malawians are sick and tired of ministers who seem to take their position as a favour from the President and, therefore, can work at their own pace such as being perpetually on familialisation tours and that their best performance is when they open and close workshops and other meetings.

It is time ministers took their positions seriously. It is usually their wrong assumption that they are in those positions as an appeasement. With this in mind, they seem to think it is time to enjoy the spoils of government through lucrative contracts and quickly learn how to convert public resources into personal fortunes.

This is how they live behind no good record of their performance and it is ordinary Malawians who pay the price of their poor performance by suffering.

Malawi has had a hard-working minister late Aleke Banda. Others can borrow a leaf from his indelible mark of hard work that he left behind.

Aleke Banda was a darling for most people who worked with him. His success story was in every ministry he worked and people could see progress as compared to other ministers.

It is important that positions of power must be earned. This is the reason why there will be a re-run of presidential elections so that whoever wins must earn the position by being properly elected.

Getting into power in crooked ways will soon be a thing of the past.