Chilima tells professional bodies to be neutral
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has advised professional bodies in the country to be neutral and stop wearing political colours when discharging their functions.
Chilima said this during the launch of the Malawi Institute of Procurement and Supply (Mips) Act at Bingu International Conference Centre (Bicc) in Lilongwe on Thursday.
The law, among other things, establishes Mips and will regulate the procurement and supply chain management profession in the same manner as other professional bodies such as Malawi Law Society (MLS) and Medical Council of Malawi.
Chilima said as professionals, they should try as much as possible to desist from making themselves political by aligning with politicians and forcing them to do something wrong to benefit personally.
He said: “Do not frustrate efforts to improve efficiencies because of [political] affiliations. Always think of the 17 million Malawians that we are serving, they deserve better, they owe us nothing and in fact, we owe them.
“The tendency of wearing party colours has to stop. As professionals, you should always learn to do your job without wearing political colours.”
The Vice-President assured Mips that government will provide all the necessary support for the institute to operate independently without political interference.
Parliament passed the Mips Act in November 2015 and President Peter Mutharika signed it into law in January this year.
Mips president Edington Chilapondwa said in an earlier interview the law will help improve the image of the procurement profession in the country.
He said: “The launch is another milestone in the history of Malawi as we combine efforts with government in combating corruption and advocating for good procurement practices in all sectors of the economy.”
Mips was established on November 20 2008 as a limited company by guarantee with a vision to promote procurement and supply in Malawi by enforcing high standard of efficient and professionalism
