Chakwera warns ministers against corruption
President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday warned Cabinet ministers against corruption, saying he will not shield any minister involved in the vice.
He issued the warning during the swearing-in of the new Cabinet ministers.
Outlining what he called his seven expectations from the ministers at the ceremony at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, the President said he expected his ministers to work ethically and desist from abusing their offices.
Chakwera said: “Corruption comes in many forms, and the opportunities to succumb to it in this country abound, but you must resist it at every turn. Because if you do not follow the law, the law will follow you.
“And if you think that I will use my office to save you from facing a law you have broken, then you are gravely mistaken.”
The President called on the ministers to work hard, to be humble, accountable, audible and courageous regardless of the political party they are affiliated to.
“I expect my Cabinet to work accountably. Whether you belong to Malawi Congress Party, or UTM, or People’s Party, or any of the other parties in the Tonse Alliance, you must remember that it is I who appointed you and it is to me that you report. Do not become presumptuous and imagine that your appointment is attributed to someone else.
“I expect regular and timely reports to my office of the progress you are making, and I expect those reports to be presented to me directly and for me to be the one that directs you on whether any contents in your reports should be shared with anyone else,” said Chakwera.
Commenting on the Cabinet he dissolved last week, Chakwera said one of the flaws was what he called ‘its deafening silence’ as Malawians need to hear from the ministers.
Chakwera dissolved Cabinet on Monday after coming under intense pressure from the Public Affairs Committee and the civil society.
The inaugural 31-member Cabinet served him for 17 months.
The President on Tuesday announced an initial list of 12 members with two new faces before appointing the last cohort of 18 individuals on Thursday to complete a 32-member troupe.
