DPP govt calls for CVs of top civil servants, parastatal bosses

Principal Secretaries (PS), directors in all government ministries and chief executive officers of all parastatals have been ordered to submit their curriculum vitae (CVs) to the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC), Weekend Nation has learnt.

The directive from the Civil Service Reform Commission has derailed business in most government offices as fear and uncertainty have gripped top civil servants.

Weekend Nation investigations show that most PSs are worried about the criteria the new commission is going to use in selecting senior officers to be retained in line ministries.

Minister of Information, Tourism and Civic Education Kondwani Nankhumwa confirmed about the directive in an interview on Thursday.

Nankhumwa said through the exercise, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government wanted to know who is who in government and what they were doing.

“Yes, the [Civil Service] Reform Commission, through the Office of President and Cabinet, requested for CVs of top civil servants starting from director up to PS level. But let me mention that there is no sinister motive behind that and people should not get worried,” said Nankhumwa, adding that the commission wants to know officers who are about to retire and those on permanent contract so that it carries out  proper reforms.

He said the committee had its first meeting on Tuesday and that it will meet again soon.

Civil Service Trade Union (CSTU)   secretary general Madalitso Njolomole has since asked the commission to co-opt one CSTU member, if the reforms are going to serve the interest of everyone.

He warned the new government not to appoint people for the sake of appeasement, saying this would jeopardise President Peter Mutharika’s call to have a vibrant civil service.

Human rights activist Billy Mayaya said in a separate interview there should be a mechanism to ensure that changes do not lead to unnecessary litigation.

“Civil service positions should go to right candidates based on merit and not on political appeasement,” adding that Malawians are wary of institutions that are created at the expense of taxpayers’ money.

Three weeks have passed since the CVs order was made, leaving top civil servants afraid and unable to make critical decisions as they are no longer sure whether their jobs are secure, according to a source.

Since ascending to power, the DPP government has already made several changes in government, a thing top civil servants regard as a signal of what to expect in the aftermath of the CV review.

Chief Secretary to Government Hawa Ndilowe was demoted and has since been re-assigned as High Commissioner to Tanzania.

Government also hired Chimwemwe Banda as new PS for Information and Gerald Viola as director of Information, replacing Luckie Sikwese and Chikumbutso Mtumodzi, respectively.

The Commander of the Malawi Defence Force, General Henry Odillo and the Deputy Inspector General of Police Nelson Bophani were also dismissed.

What is increasing the worries of the top civil servants, according to sources, is that this is the third time in less than 10 years for them to submit their CVs.

Shortly, after ascending to power in 2004, former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika ordered all top civil servants to submit their CVs.

President Joyce Banda made a similar order in 2012 when she took over power.

Meaningful reform has eluded the Civil Service since the advent of the democratic dispensation. In 1997, a report by a commission headed by the late Justice Joseph Chatsika, known as the Chatsika Report, documented failings and came up with recommendations for reforming the civil service, none of which was implemented.