There is a veil of secrecy on the identity of the five technocrats whom President Lazarus Chakwera summoned and reprimanded and whose team leader was fired for providing incorrect information in the State of the Nation Address (Sona).
In the Sona, Chakwera highlighted development projects that have been implemented in each of the country’s districts over the four years of his administration. However, some of the projects he mentioned have been disputed as not being completed, non-existent, or being implemented by development partners and not the government.
However, in his address in Parliament last Wednesday during question time, the President said after noticing queries on the Sona he delivered on February 14, his investigation led to the realisation that some five technocrats were responsible for the errors.
He said, however, that the errors constituted only two percent of the address.
Chakwera stated: “In fact, those five technocrats have since been summoned and reprimanded, and the head of the team has since been fired from his position as team leader.”
Immediately after this statement, The Nation began the search for the names of those who were reprimanded and fired.
However, the efforts have not yielded results to date, raising questions if indeed anyone was fired and reprimanded for the Sona ‘lies’.
Presidential press secretary Anthony Kasunda last Wednesday referred the questions to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), saying, “The OPC, as responsible for the civil service, should be able to shed more light.”
The response suggests that the five were civil servants.
But when contacted last Thursday, spokesperson in the Office of the Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Robert Kalindiza, who speaks for the OPC, said he was searching for information.
Minister of Information and Digitisation, Moses Kunkuyu, who is also the government spokesperson, said he was not aware of the individuals.
“I’m sorry, I may not know the said technocrats since there are no substantive positions in the civil service specifically for Sona compilation.
“So, from my office, I may not even know who was in the team, let alone its former leader,” he said.
How is Sona constructed?
The President is constitutionally mandated to deliver a Sona based on Section 89 Sub-Section 3 (a and b) of the Republican Constitution.
According to the Constitution, the Sona shall be delivered before consideration of the official budget in which the President is expected to outline policies.
“The President shall each year, immediately before the consideration of the official budget, attend Parliament and shall: a) Address Parliament on the state of the nation and on the future policies of the Government at that time; b) Report on the policies of the previous year; and c) Respond to questions,” the section reads.
On the other hand, Parliamentary Standing Order 23 mandates the President to make this address when he proclaims a new session of the National Assembly.
Understandably, the last Sona falls into this category as it was presented before the consideration of the national budget and also to proclaim the 51st Session of the Malawi Parliament.
According to corroborated information from government and former State House officials, the construction of the Sona is based on collective effort; submissions from ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) with the OPC as a coordinating entity.
In an interview, former presidential adviser Mabvuto Bamusi said usually the State House officially instructs OPC to gather information worth selecting for the Sona from MDAs.
He said it is the OPC that consolidates the submission which is sent to the State House, normally through the executive assistant to the President.
“State House, normally the Executive Assistant, drafts or coordinates drafting of the speech for the President in the form of a Sona.
“State House verifies with OPC on facts and validity of the content. Sometimes State House contacts MDAs directly without the knowledge or involvement of SPC during this verification,” he said.
According to Bamusi, the executive assistant to the President also involves some presidential advisers to do fact-checks of the contents of the draft Sona.
A former executive assistant to the President, who opted for anonymity, corroborated Bamusi’s explanation.
“The document is given to the President’s speechwriter [assistant] for language and presentation as may be the style the President wants.
“The speechwriter often bounces back to the SPC or MDAs for clarity. They do not have authority to change the substance,” said the source, pointing out that in cases of wrong information, the source is likely to be political heads of MDAs.
