By Kondanani Chilimunthaka

On Tuesday, 6th June, 2023, President Lazarus Chakwera retaliated smartly to all long time criticisms and accusations suggesting that he was not paying attention, and was not interested in acting on the reforms report he directed his vice to lead in conducting.

Speaking at Bingu International Convention Center in the capital Lilongwe during the launch of the National Action Plan for Open Government Partnerships in Malawi, President Chakwera said the reforms that he directed to be conducted and the report that was submitted to him was not for public debates, or entertainment, but was a reference document for him as President in engaging with public institutions and officers.

Chakwera who told the nation that the reforms are being quietly done by his administration, urged reporters in the country to be finding the truth first before feeding the public with news.

“Last week Monday, the front page headline in one of the dailies reads: ‘Reforms Report Gathering Dust’. The accompanying article went on to claim that the President is not committed to the reforms agenda. Today, we are here as a direct result of months of work that my office has been doing quietly to advance my Administration’s reforms agenda, months of work that our newspapers seem to have not been paying attention to.

I think it’s high time that newspapers understood that just because they have not been paying attention or privy to something happening in Government doesn’t mean that it is not happening.” Said Chakwera in retaliation to what has been circulating on various platforms, and recently appeared in one of the daily papers.

Malawi leader further told the nation that if it was not for him pursuing the reforms, then the country would not be making progress in various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to-date such as negotiations for an Extended Credit Facility with the International Monetary Fund, and Securing of $350 million, Millennium Challenge Compact, among other strides already being done.

He said; “Lastly, if I had not been pursuing Reforms, we would not be here today, launching the National Action Plan for reactivating Malawi’s Membership in the Open Government Partnerships which my office has been pursuing since the time I directed the Secretary to the President and Cabinet to pursue it in July last year when I opened the National Anti-corruption Conference. Five months after that directive, a new National Action Plan was submitted to the global OGP Secretariat, whose representatives are here today, resulting in the reactivation of Malawi’s Membership.

The OGP Membership means that the action plan Malawi is pursuing for reforms that enhance governance and accountability is so robust that it meets the standards and has the buy-in as of global partners, civil society, private sector, non-governmental organizations, academia, and other stakeholders.”

The OGP Membership is giving Malawi areas of focus that are critical to the pursuit of Malawi 2063’s Enabler Number 2, that deals with Effective Governance Systems and industrialization. On the other hand it highly signifies commitment to govern with transparency and accountability to sustain trust from the citizenry.

By Cedric Nkungula

Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says the Public Sector Systems Report that he ordered and presented to him by Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima is not a document for public entertainment or debates.

In February 2021, President Chakwera ordered Chilima to lead the public sector systems review task force following revelations of abuse of funds meant for Covid – 19 response.

The report was presented to the president on May 21, 2021. Since then, there have been calls by civil society organizations to have the report made public.

Speaking during the launch of the open government partnerships National Action Plan (NAP) for Malawi at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Tuesday, 6th June 2023, the Malawi leader emphasized that the report is a reference document for him as president during engagements with public institutions and public officers that need constant direction on the reforms.

To this end, Chakwera parried reports that the document is gathering dust in his office.

The Malawi leader cited the launching of NAP and several other initiatives as an indication that his administration is implementing the reforms.

“If I had not been pursuing reforms, the ministry of finance and economic affairs would not have made progress in the negotiations for an Extended Credit Facility with the International Monetary Fund, because the center piece of those negotiations are the reforms we have put in place for better fiscal management. If I had not been pursuing Reforms, we would not have secured the 350 million dollar Millennium Challenge Compact, because to qualify for that compact required the implementation of reforms that passed the scorecard our development partners gave us,” said the president.

“If I had not been pursuing reforms, the Presidential Delivery Unit in my office would not have been conducting delivery labs for various sectors to improve public sector performance. In fact, to sustain the momentum of the PDU, I have appointed Dr. Janet Banda, the Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet, as the new Head of PDU, who will be reporting directly to me on its operations and its push for public sector reforms and delivery.”