Ndilowe attributes financial mismanagement to lack of ethics
Chief Secretary to the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Hawa Ndilowe says mismanagement of public funds in the civil service is a result of lack of adherence to values, ethics and integrity among civil servants.
Speaking in an interview in Lilongwe yesterday during the opening of high-level consultations on strengthening national integrity and accountability for principal secretaries and heads of constitutional bodies, Ndilowe said it is time civil servants reflected on their service.
Ndilowe said: “Civil servants should reflect on their values and ethics in as far as public funds management is concerned. There is moral decay in the civil service. These challenges have accumulated for many years and this is what made us into looting of public funds dubbed Cashgate.”
She also blamed civil servants for failing to blow a whistle in the Cashgate, saying in all discussions of the scam, there is no mention of a civil servant who stood courageously to report the plunder.
“No civil servant wanted to report the plunder, but they are in the same system. This shows lack of ethics and integrity,” said Ndilowe.
She said during one-party regime, the civil service was perfect, but things changed when Malawi adopted multiparty system. She said, therefore, there is need for government, civil service and other stakeholders to sit down and analyse what has gone wrong in the civil service.
The workshop has been organised by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) to improve management of public funds in the civil service.
In her speech, acting UNDP resident representative Carlo Flore-Smereczniak said Malawi needs a bold leadership that can rebuild the confidence of the public service following the Cashgate.
“The rebuilding of this confidence requires political will and bold leadership that can help create an ethical and accountable public service workforce; leadership that, when making decisions, asks itself “Is this the right thing to do?” and leadership that is a “role model” in holding everyone accountable,” said Flore-Smereczniak.
Ndilowe’s office looted 30% of the cashgate. She is not a model at all.
Two points:
1. During the one party-regime, “the civil service was perfect”. One party regime was solely manned by the then MCP under the Ngwazi. I am also of the opinion that the same regime is the only one that can bring back sanity and ethical morality within the civil service. I support her observation that all the other regimes have been characterised with gluttony and disregard for the welfare of Malawians;
2. On the observation of the acting UNDP resident representative, I am also in agreement. What the representative is essentially saying is that the current administration and its leadership have lost the confidence of Malawians and the donor community. These sentiments have not only been expressed by the UNDP representative but several other high profile envoys have over the stretch of the PP scandals. It has also been noted (by the UNDP representative) that the current leadership is not a role model for the civil service, hence, cannot maintain discipline within the system. Indeed, “he who comes to equity must come with clean hands” and “if you live in a glass house, don’t throw stones”! The representative has further alluded to the fact that the current administration does not ask itself whether what they do is right for Malawians. Examples to that abound – the jet ‘sale’, KCH saga, etc.
Both Ndilowe and the UNDP representative are essentially pointing out qualities that are lacking in the current administration that would make Malawi better. Qualities do not grow on people overnight, hence, the current administration will never make anything better – things will only go worse.