‘MPs should not be Cabinet ministers’

Malawians do not subscribe to the idea of members of Parliament doubling as Cabinet ministers, a study conducted by the Centre for Social Research of the University of Malawi has revealed.

In his presentation of the study report at an African Governance Forum in Botswana last week, researcher Joseph Chunga also said Malawians’ perception is that the current presidential election system does not achieve national unity and more legitimacy to the winner.

Currently, all members of President Joyce Banda’s Cabinet are MPs except for Ralph Kasambara, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

“To enhance separations of powers and checks and balances, the Constitution should be amended to bar MPs from serving as ministers simultaneously. All judges should be approved by Parliament after being nominated by the President,” said Chunga.

He said to avoid nepotistic and biased appointments, Cabinet ministers and principal secretaries should be approved by Parliament once the President has nominated them.

On the of First-Past-the-Post electoral system which the country uses, Chunga said there is need to strengthen it by ensuring that the President is elected by an absolute majority.

Malawi Electoral Support Network’s acting chairperson Undule Mwakasungula said the conference provided a forum to learn from other countries the role of stakeholders in promoting good governance.