Time for excuses is over—Chakwera
President Lazarus Chakwera says time for excuses is gone and that public office holders who fail to deliver will face the chop.
Speaking during the official opening of Henry Henderson School of Excellence (HHS) in Blantyre, he condemned the tendency of giving endless excuses for failure to produce quality and timely results.
The President said: “The time for excuses has passed. Those who do not deliver must get out of the way and make room for those who do because rebuilding Malawi is a matter of urgency.”
Chakwera said he is closely monitoring the rehabilitation of the Kapichira Hydro Power Station in Chikwawa to ensure that the lost 130 megawatts is restored by Christmas Day this year.
“The people at Egenco [Electricity Generation Company] now have six weeks to deliver,” he said.
The President also said he is monitoring closely the fertiliser mess under the Ministry of Agriculture, the University of Malawi fiasco, fuel shortages, foreign exchange crisis, human trafficking and cross-border smuggling and child labour.
He also said he is keeping an eye on disinformation, d e f o r e s t a t i o n a n d environmental degradation and corruption case management.
“As we go into the New Year 2023, my administ r a t ion wi l l entertain no distractions, no excuses, no political games and no meetings created for people who just want to hear themselves talk… and accomplishing nothing,” the President said.
Turning to the day’s business, Chakwera commended the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Blantyre Synod for completing construction of the school within the set 12 months despite challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the feat is proof that Malawi has people who can deliver on time without compromising on quality.
In his address, CCAP Blantyre Synod general secretary the Reverend Billy Gama said they chose the President to preside over the official opening of the school because of the historical relationship between the church and the State.
“John Calvin said and I quote, ‘church and State are partners in development .
The church must pray for the State and the State must protect the church,” he said.
Gama thanked Chakwera for gracing the University of Blantyre Synod’s inaugural graduation in March this year, saying his presence raised the institution’s profile.
He also took advantage of the gathering to explain why the synod is not issuing a pastoral letter despite the challenges that the country is facing, saying: “In July we presented this issue to the Synod’s General Administrative Committee and the majority said the pastoral letter was not necessary.”
Gama said there was no need to issue a pastoral letter when the President gives the clerics an audience to discuss emerging issues.
He asked the President to consider expediting the Affordable Inputs Programme so that farmers should not struggle to access the inputs.
Minister of Labour Vera Kamtukule, who represented Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje, thanked the CCAP Blantyre Synod for the new school.
HHS was built with a 900 000 euro grant (about K1 billion) from Johannes Beese Stifung (JBS), a German-based foundation that is mostly involved in charity work with a key focus on education.
The two-storey U-shaped building has classrooms, biology, physics and computer laboratories for the three stream school. The building also has offices for administrators, academic staff and the chaplain, among others.
The building has a ramp at the centre that enables students with disabilities to access all parts of the building with ease.
After unveiling the plaque, the President pushed the wheelchair of physically-challenged student Callista Mdumuka to the Computer Laboratory on the top floor.
