We have been here before

A poem here, a standup comedy there; a traditional dance on stage and everything else in between—the pomp and fanfare were well choreographed.

The thumping of feet, the beating of the drums of life and the gyrating of hips around the spinal axis added to the drama of the launch of the Public Service Reforms Agenda in Lilongwe on Wednesday.

It was the typical celebratory style of Malawians whenever they come together. To cap it all, several Cabinet ministers signed performance contracts with President Arthur Peter Mutharika.

This was a highly symbolic activity that, I am sure, was meant to project two things: first,that ministers and their ministries will be held accountable for the failure of the specific tasks they have been apportioned from the reforms plan.

Second, that this time, the change has a sponsor and champion—President Mutharika, a demonstration that there is more than enough political will to see through the reforms agenda.

Well, maybe, maybe not. Launching the document in style was the easy part. The hard part started immediately President Mutharika and Vice-President SaulosChilima left the Bingu International Conference Centre where they launched the reforms agenda.

Remember, this is the 80th reform agenda and if we were to assume that they were all midwifed over the past 50 years, it follows that every year we were developing at least one-and-a-half reform documents.

Now folks that is a performance rate that even bright minds from Harvard Business School would be astounded with and may even launch a study that could sound like: Supersonic Speed Change Management Planning: The Case of Malawi.

Those chaps would be equally impressed—at least in an academic sort of way—when they look at our change implementation rate and an equally interesting research topic would pop up: How to Implement Change at the Slowest Pace: Malawi as a microcosm.

You see, this is what we call killing two birds with one stone—either way, we get to be studied in detail by the world’s leading business schools.

The point is that we have been here before, specialising in colourful launches of equally colourful documents, but with not so colourful results either because what we launched was never implemented or was abandoned at the first sight of hard work.

I have no doubt that Chilima—under the tutorage of his boss Mutharika—means well, so did all the commissioners he worked with.

But Chilima and Mutharika will have to understand that of the 79 reform documents gathering dust at Capital Hill, a good number of them were crafted and were expected to be implemented by most of the technocrats still in government and who are also expected to take technical leadership of the implementation of a similar document they miserably failed to execute in the past.

Thus, for the change to happen this time around, Mutharika and Chilima must be prepared to make tough choices, including purging archaic leaders in the public service who will stop at nothing to remind anyone with a new idea that “Kodi mwabwera liti?” or “this is how we do things around here”, thereby stifling innovation, including those good ideas in the new reform plan.

If this is not possible, Mutharika and Chilima may just have to learn to shove the reforms down the old hugs’ throats and get on with it.

Otherwise, the next 50 years could also be littered by 79 reform documents that, prior to their boisterous and expensive launches, will see new sets of commissioners and some civil servants flying half-way around the world to “learn” how other countries have reformed and, of course, burning millions of taxpayers’ money in the process in form of allowances, air tickets and precious time.

So far, the performance contracts appear to indicate that there is now a clearer and fairly practical implementation path that may not have been there in most of the previous attempts at reform.

Indeed, the fact that government has already started showcasing quick gains such as at the Department of Immigration, Malawi Investment Trade Centre, the restructuring of the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) in terms of plucking away some departments and programmes as well as trimming the President’s public appointments powers—one of the most difficult powers to cede—could be a sign that maybe, just maybe, things might just be different this time around.

This makes me cautiously optimistic, but given that we have a history of starting strong and quickly fizzling out after just a few yards of implementation, leaves me very guarded and, therefore, alert to implementation modalities.

The implementation of these reforms may make or break Chilima because whether he likes it or not, he is the public face of the reforms.

By accepting to lead the planning process, he staked his political career and his legacy. He needs a tough spine and political savvy to pull this off—and survive.

I know, I know, someone is screaming that this is about Malawi, not Chilima. Oh, yeah? Don’t be naïve.

If this works, it will all be about Malawi and the visionary leadership of Mutharika. If it flops, it will be just about Chilima—and the circling vulture will pounce for the kill!