Cabinet reshuffle is always headline news. This is because cabinet is very important in the running of a country – cabinet initiates and implement state policies. This means that citizens must be concerned with calibre and character of ministers forming a cabinet because cabinet decisions affect everyone. This also means that public scrutiny of the ministers is inevitable, some would say a must; the cabinet ministers must be prepared for it.
Yet, the reaction of Malawians to sacking and appointments of cabinet has always baffled me. It appears to me that extreme majority of Malawians are contented with the country’s constitutional mishap which empowers the State President to appoint whoever he/ she pleases into the cabinet.
The irony is that even though Malawian public does not demand the citizens’ right to know the criteria used to appoint individuals into this important body – the cabinet, Malawians are always discussing and speculating on why they think someone has made into the cabinet and why others have not. This indicates citizens’ interest in knowing how people are hired into cabinet positions; similarly, is also indicates public interest to know the reasons when a cabinet minister is fired.
So why are we not demanding citizens’ right to know?
It is clear to see that those responsible for presidential communication are aware of the public interest in cabinet appointments and sackings. Presidential communication handlers are aware that the State President owes the public an explanation on decision that affects the running of the country. This is why announcement on public appointments are always accompanied by this pre-emptive disclaimer: “… using powers vested in him by the Constitution His Excellency the President (whoever happens to be at the time) has decided to relieve (you can add a name) of his/ her responsibilities as Minister of …”
The disclaimer is intended to address a specific issue, away from that of sacking, or appointment of a cabinet minister. The point of the disclaimer is to manage public expectations and demands. This Constitutional provision is unfortunate because it protects Presidents from transparency. Yet, the Constitution is there to serve Malawians, not protecting leaders from public scrutiny and accountability – as it were, Malawians can do with amended version of this provision to suit the democratic needs of the country.
Like all the local media on that day, The Daily Times of 7th April 2017 reported on the sacking of Minister of Civic Education, Culture and Community Development, Patricia Kaliati. Reading the Times’ story it was clear that the newspaper was mostly interested in digging out why Kaliati had been fired – the same was the case with The Nation and Nyasa Times.
There was no scrutiny whatsoever as to how the President settled on Cecilia Chazama to replace Kaliati. Nothing wrong with pursuing this angle – media institutions have a right to determine what they find newsworthy and angles to pursue. Yet, this is typical of how Malawians approach this important matter. Malawians are more interested in why ministers are fired but not necessarily how they are hired. Yet, the latter is crucial. In fact it does not make any sense to know why a cabinet minister has been fired when in the first place you did not care to know how they were appointed.
In Malawi we have cultivated a culture in which we think it is procedural that the State President must appoint all his/ her close associates into top positions. The Nation only mention that Chazama is a Secretary General of the ruling party, DPP and that she’s an MP for Blantyre North East. This culture makes us blind to broader issues of governance and stops us from asking important questions on transparency, accountability, nepotism, cronyism etc. These issues negatively affect the running of government. I am aware that these things happen elsewhere yet this should not justify Malawi’s situation.
Why citizen’s right to know matters?
Freedom of information campaigner, Heather Brooke argues that bad governments rule by secrecy and the problem is that decisions made in secrecy by such governments do not lead to good value for money or good public services.
This is very true for Malawi. The status quo whereby the President can hire and fire just because the Republican Constitution allows them; and the citizens have no right to demand the reasons behind the decision should not have been allowed in the first place. Over the years Malawians have paid dearly for this constitutional loophole. It has allowed State Presidents to appoint individuals merely as a reward for one’s “royalty” to the President and in some cases for the President to gain political advantage – mostly securing necessary numbers to pass bills in parliament.
The status quo nature and sustains nepotism and cronyism in the country. It compromises quality and efficiency of public services delivery. It does not help that currently the citizenry, the civil society, including the media are only curious to know why someone has been fired from the cabinet so folks can gossip and speculate about personal relationship and intraparty politics. Malawians, we cannot allow ourselves to turn into a nation that is only interested in gossip while those we elect in office are running the country down. We must focus on the bigger picture.
Spirit of Umunthu 