Malawi’s former minister of Energy and Mining Dr. Cassim Chilumpha says he is not bitter with his firing from President Joyce Banda’s Cabinet.
In an exclusive interview on Sunday, Chilumpha said there is no bad blood between him and the President.
This is the first time that Chilumpha, who is also second vice-president of the ruling People’s Party (PP), has spoken about his firing in a December 6 2012 Cabinet reshuffle that also saw former Tourism and Culture minister Daniel Liwimbi being left out.
Said Chilumpha: “No, I am not bitter. And in as far as I am concerned, there is no problem between me and the President. I don’t know really what is supposed to have gone wrong. In fact, this is not the first time for me to be in and out of Cabinet. I have been in and out several times.”
He was speaking to Nation Online after addressing a rally in Lilongwe Kumachenga Constituency where, among several issues, he asked the people to support President Banda, the PP and the party’s 2014 aspiring parliamentary candidate, Olive Mawindo.
He said every Cabinet minister, once appointed, realises and serves with the full understanding that his or her services will be rendered as and when the President wishes.
Chilumpha also defended President Banda’s food relief distributions which have recently attracted criticism as some people argue that the money spent during such exercises surpasses by far the actual cost of the donation.
During the rally, held at Njewa School ground, Chilumpha introduced Mawindo as PP’s candidate in the 2014 parliamentary race. The constituency’s incumbent Member of Parliament is Maurine Bondo of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
On the current economic situation, Chilumpha said the country is going through a process of recovery and just like in any economy it has to face hardships before full recovery.
