‘Cutbacks need firm discipline’
Former Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe has weighed in on newly introduced expenditure control measures announced by President Lazarus Chakwera last week. Gondwe sounds pessimistic due to what he calls deteriorating levels of discipline in the civil service. He is only happy that Chakwera has sent a strong message. He speaks with our Lilongwe Assistant Bureau Chief SUZGO CHITETE. Excerpts:
Q
: As an economist and former finance minister, what do you make out of the new expenditure control measures announced last week?
A
: I really doubt this will work. None of those things has never been done before. Founding president Kamuzu Banda himself tried it one time and the Secretary to the President and Cabinet [SPC] was Mr Kakhobwe, who really tried his best that the measures should work. But it did not. That was the time we had a lot of discipline in the civil service. Now, with eroded discipline, it cannot really be done. I congratulate the President for suggesting these measures, but he should not think that this is something. These have been done before and mostly failed.
Q:What lessons did you learn during president Bingu wa Mutharika’s rule when you were minister of finance who instituted similar measures, including restrictions on foreign travel and movement of public vehicles?
A
: The experience was that you had to have a very strong SPC. There were public servants who were avoiding these measures. Honestly, we did not really cut expenditure as we wished. The expenditure was as bad as it was before. It is an issue of discipline and I really do not think these things will help us much. What it does help is to show that at the top, they want to institute discipline and that sends a positive image of the leadership.
Q
: Government expects to save K10.2 million every month by cutting fuel allocation to ministers. Will this make a difference?
A
: That could make a difference, but I do not think they have cut enough. Assuming they are getting 1 000 litres per month, it means they will be getting 800 litres which is a lot. This can allow someone to travel between Lilongwe and Mzuzu four to five times a month. Frankly, I think they should sit down again and think about this.
Q
: Putting your pessimism aside, what do you think should be done to have these measures work?
A
:It is about discipline. I know the new SPC [Collen Zamba] is tough and may actually make a difference in that office unlike before. But I do not think she is as tough as Kakhobwe was during Kamuzu time. Kakhobwe was really tough, but he failed to achieve anything. So, we will see. What I am happy about is that the President has taken them on board all the complaints we raised at our press conference convened by the Democratic Progressive Party. The measures come in response to those calls for dramatic reforms. That makes me very happy. Had we emphasised on discipline from the way back, it would really have been easy to implement these austerity measures.
Q
: What more do you think should have been done to show financial prudence?
A
: I really do not know. I do not like giving answers to questions I have not thought about. I need to work out the mathematics before I make my own suggestions, but I have not done that to competently share my views. I hope we can achieve something about it. Otherwise, the situation is very bad.
Q
: If you followed the President’s press briefing where he made these announcements, what was your impression?
A
:I would say the President set the right tone. He had to do something about the current economic situation facing the country. But I thought the claim that they spent K300 million on the two, trips was not honest. It must be more. In my time a presidential trip outside State House, going to Mzuzu, for example, would cost no less than K15 million. But that is over 15 years ago. Now it should be much more. The local trips are quite expensive because the President usually does not travel alone. There are so many people who accompany him, most of them he would not even know that they are there. There are issues of allowances to those who accompany him. So, I do not believe the K300 million claim. If you saw the young man who mentioned the figure did not really sound confident about it. And the Secretary to Treasury [Mafuta Mwale] is the best civil servant we have now in the system. He is very good. I have worked with him before. But maybe that is what they asked for and not what they spent.
