Matola needs censuring

Just a week ago, this column wrote how difficult it might be for President Lazarus Chakwera’s austerity measures to be implemented by public officers owing to the fact that such proclamations have been made before but were never followed.

I got vindicated on just how some public officials are unwilling to abide by the austerity measures, especially the measure for public officials to reduce both internal and external travel. The sentiments by Minister of Energy, Ibrahim Matola that President Chakwera should not listen to critics who in the past have been calling for him to reduce local and international travel, is a glimpse into the Executive arrogance, impunity and disregard of policies that is in prevalent in most public officials.

Matola’s sentiments that the President can travel wherever and whenever he wants, is a reflection of a public official who is not ready to take instructions from his superiors, in this case, take instructions from the President. Matola could also be a true reflection of the people that the President works with—people that are incapable of embracing change and unwilling to feel uncomfortable so that Malawians can live in comfort. Matola’s remarks could also signify the policy incoherence within the Executive and the Tonse Alliance. I want to believe that Matola was part of the meeting if there was any, where the austerity measures were made and he agreed to them.

What is more shocking is that Matola as a member of the Executive should be one of the people championing the implementation of the measures and seeing to it that the gains from such measures benefit Malawians. Instead, Matola has chosen to insult Malawians, who are the biggest critics of the President. When Malawians offer constructive criticism to the President and government, they do from a place of love for the country.

At a time when many Malawians are feeling the effect of the devaluation of the kwacha, one would expect people like Matola who hold those positions on trust by the people of Malawi, to at least show that they are concerned with what the people they represent are going through. This is not time for calling government critics achule (frogs).

Malawians that Matola is insulting are paying for the comfortable life he is living. They deserve to be respected. Unfortunately, it seems President Chakwera’s Cabinet is full of people who are not used to criticism and as such, the only way they know how to respond to criticism is to insult them. The Executive arrogance was once again in full display when Malawian academics and professionals in the diaspora wrote to the President asking him and his government to fulfil their campaign promises, respect the rule of law and fight corruption. Instead of the government acknowledging and perhaps reassuring the academics that it will look into the issue they had raised, their concerns were met with arrogance and indirect blame on institutions of higher learning. The Executive can do better.