Public office is a pain—Chakwera
President Lazarus Chakwera has described adherence to an oath while in public office as a painful undertaking, but worth it to be on the right side of the law.
He said this at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Thursday during the swearing-in of new members of his Cabinet.
The President said his first ‘pain’ came six months after he was sworn-in when he received news that some public officers had mismanaged Covid-29 pandemic interventions funds and it was put to him that such individuals had to be interdicted.
Said Chakwera: “Malawi Public Service Regulations and other laws required that those public officers who were responsible for the usage of those funds needed to be interdicted until they were cleared of any violations of the law.
“This was painful for me to hear because I knew that many of those public officers were men and women I myself had appointed, men and women I regarded favourably and for whom I had much affection.”
He said another painful experience happened seven months ago when the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) submitted a report to his office stating that investigations had concluded that some public officials had conducted themselves corruptly in their dealings with United Kingdom-based businessperson Zuneth Sattar whose firms have multi-million dollar procurement contracts with Malawi government ministries, departments and agencies.
Chakwera said he acted on the report despite the pain it caused him.
In this regard, he warned the new members of his Cabinet that if they choose to avoid the pain and end up siding with those violating the law, they would be on their own.
The new members sworn on Thursday are Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma, Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola, Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima, Minister of Mining Monica Chang’anamuno, Minister of Defence Harry Mkandawire, Minister of Youth and Sports Uchizi Mkandawire and Minister of Lands Deus Gumba. Deputy ministers Owen Chomanika (Local Government, Unity and Culture) and Liyam Kakhobwe Chapota (Water and Sanitation) also took their oaths.
In an interview, Kunkuyu said he will , among others, ensure that he abides by the oath of his office as a public officer.
He also said he is going to ensure that there is free flow of authentic information between the public and the government.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there, I will make sure that the people know what their government is doing and also ensure that the government knows what the people are expecting of it.
“In any case it is important for both government and the people to communicate freely and truthfully,” said Kunkuyu.
The President announced a reconfigured 27-member Cabinet on February 1 2023 comprising 19 Malawi Congress Party members, four UTM Party members and one each from People’s Party and Democratic Progressive Party.
