Vice-President Saulos Chilima yesterday sent back Malawi Institute of Management (MIM) officials for allegedly failing to impress during presentation of the institution’s public sector reforms progress.
Writing on his Facebook page, the Vice-President said he sent back the officials halfway through the discussions because they showed that they were unprepared.
He said: “Suffice to say that MIM’s presentation was the most uninspiring portrait of an organisation since I resumed working on public sector reforms under the administration of His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, President of the Republic.
“If this is an institution that was established to train top civil servants then, as it stands, the institution is not up to the task under its current leadership.”
Chilima, who is also Minister of Economic Planning and Development and Public Sector Reforms, said MIM was retrogressing.
He said from the financial presentation made during the meeting in Lilongwe, it was evident that MIM was on its deathbed as it has experienced persistent cash flows resulting into lawsuits. He said suppliers were refusing to offer MIM goods and services and that the institution has accumulated arrears in taxes and pension remittances.
The Veep said the expectation was to get an explanation from the management team led by MIM executive director Arnold Juma on what led to the current state of affairs and then identify possible solutions to turn around the situation.
When contacted, Juma declined to comment saying he does not speak for the institution and referred the matter to director of finance Samson Sikelo.
But efforts to talk to Sikelo proved futile as he could not pick up our phone calls on numerous attempts.
Earlier, Chilima met Mzuzu University (Mzuni) vice-chancellor Professor John Kalenga Saka and Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje as well as officials from the Department of Statutory Corporations.
He described Mzuni as an important provider of human capital development in areas of education, tourism, social services and innovation.
Mzuni enrols about 10 180 students of whom 45 percent are females.
The Veep said financial stability should be at the core of the university’s strategic planning while offering quality education.
