Sunday, February 28, 2021
  • About Us
  • ImagiNATION
  • Adverts
  • Rate Card
  • Contact Us
The Nation Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home News National News

Party loyalists, family in Cabinet

by Llyod Chitsulo
02/01/2021
in National News
4 min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedinLinkedinShare via Email

A family man. That was how President Lazarus Chakwera was described after appointing his first Cabinet when he assumed office following his triumph in the June 23 court-sanctioned fresh presidential election.

The Cabinet announced on July 8 2020, surprised some, as the President took on board family members as well as some Malawi Congress Party (MCP) loyalists.

RelatedHeadlines

Budget balloons

Court declares Escom private company

K1.7bn Chisale assets seized

A few members of the UTM Party, which is one of the key partners in the nine-party Tonse Alliance administration, as expected were also taken on board.

But what raised eyebrows, was the appointment of Mohammed Sidik Mia, his runningmate in the nullified May 2019 presidential election as Minister of Transport and Public Works and his wife, Abida, as Deputy Minister of Lands.

chakwera | The Nation Online
Chakwera with MCP vice-president Sidik Mia and his wife Abida

Not only that, two family members related to former president Kamuzu Banda, Ken Kandodo and his sister Khumbize Chiponda, made it into the Cabinet as Minister of Labour and Minister of Health respectively.

Again, the Central Region, his home base, dominated with at least 20 seats in the 31-member Cabinet. And MCP loyalists were rewarded with Lobin Lowe, the former Leader of Opposition landing the Ministry of Agriculture, Lingson Belekanyama appointed Minister of Local Government and Rural Development while Chakwera’s blue-eyed boy Eisenhower Mkaka, who is also the party’s secretary general, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

There was more joy in MCP as other party loyalists such as Sosten Gwengwe was appointed Minister of Trade and Nancy Tembo was handed Forestry and Natural Resources portfolio.

But UTM Party suffered although as expected the party’s president and the country’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima landed the Economic Development and Planning portfolio as well as a role to lead the public reforms programme.

His running mate in the May 2019 poll, Michael Usi, was appointed Minister of Tourism while the party’s secretary general Patricia Kaliati became Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare.

Newton Kambala, another UTM member, was appointed Minister of Energy, Nancy Mdooko was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Works, Chrissie Kanyasho became Deputy Minister of Health while Agnes NyaLonje got the Education portfolio. That’s it.

Our analysis shows the Cabinet has 16 MCP members of whom  12 are full ministers and four are deputies, representing 51.6 percent while UTM Party has six members comprising four ministers and two deputies, representing 19.4 percent.

Chakwera, who promised to have 40 percent women representation and no more than 30 members in his Cabinet, missed his target having appointed 12 female ministers, representing 38 percent.

Out of that number, only four females are full ministers. These appointments did not go down well with gender advocates, who described it as a raw deal.

Gender activist Emma Kaliya said: “We are deflated that the President has not lived up to the promise of 40 percent female representation. What is even more saddening is that most women are deputy ministers. Why is this the case? The President raised our expectations, but his appointments are less inspiring.”

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) also expressed their dissatisfaction with the appointments, saying the Cabinet did not meet the principle of inclusivity which the Tonse Alliance administration sold to the electorate.

HRDC leader Gift Trapence in July since asked Chakwera to reconstitute the Cabinet to meet the aspirations of the people.

The leadership of HRDC also engaged Chakwera in Lilongwe for an hour following concerns that the appointments smacked of nepotism and cronyism.

The President speaking in an interview with BBC’s Focus on Africa, defended the Cabinet appointments.

He, however, acknowledged public grievances over some appointments and pledged to review the Cabinet after a five-month transition period.

He said: “When I came up with the list of names, marital status was not even an issue, religion was not even an issue and these other issues that people are raising were never considered. We just wanted to look at merit.”

But governance expert Henry Chingaipe said the Cabinet was a crisis of expectation “as it did not resonate with the expectations of a majority of Malawians who felt it was less inspiring in view of the governance and development agenda that had been set.”

Now that six months have elapsed, will those that made it into the botched Cabinet survive the probation period?

Previous Post

‘Chieftaincy for sale’

Next Post

MPC bus accident claims one

Related Posts

Presenting revised fiscal plan: Mlusu
National News

Budget balloons

February 27, 2021
Court has declared Escom a private firm
National News

Court declares Escom private company

February 27, 2021
Risks losing K1.7billion worth of assets: Chisale
National News

K1.7bn Chisale assets seized

February 27, 2021
Next Post
The MPC bus which overturned at Nsipe on New Years Eve | The Nation Online

MPC bus accident claims one

Opinions and Columns

My Diary

Light that came with Covid-19

February 27, 2021
Guest Spot

Resurgence of albino killings deplorable

February 27, 2021
Back Bencher

Is violence a boomerang effect in DPP?

February 27, 2021
Off the Shelf

Sacrificial lambs of a dysfunctional system

February 27, 2021

Trending Stories

  • Court has declared Escom a private firm

    Court declares Escom private company

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • K1.7bn Chisale assets seized

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • HRDC alleges threats, intimidation from investor

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the hell is APM doing with BJ?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Admarc secures K430bn to revamp operations

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Values
  • Our Philosophy
  • Editorial policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism disclaimer
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use

© 2021 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation

© 2020 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.