020 Malawi: Banda Culls Her Cabinet - allAfrica HOW TO BE AND ACT AS THE PRESIDENT Last week, the plunder at the Ministry of Finance finally forced Malawian President, Joyce Banda, to act. And act she did - firing her entire cabinet over the corruption scandal. facebook/zakariyya.abubakar.522/posts/456631951116104 Having spent almost three weeks in the United States despite growing anger at the blatant looting of public money, Banda returned last Wednesday to a country that wanted to know what the President had to say and, more importantly, what she intended to do. In a hurry to exonerate herself and deflect attention from her fault-ridden government, the president initially blamed the current corruption crisis on the previous administrations, saying that corruption has been corroding Malawi for the past twenty years. She even cited an incident during her predecessors regime when an accounts assistant was found with millions of Malawi Kwacha. But this blame game did not work since Banda was a member of the past two governments, even if she had been side-lined during Bingu wa Mutharikas second term in office - and because Malawians wanted action. The only consolation for a disenchanted nation was her promise that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Malawi Police Service would investigate the matter. But this is a promise that is easier to make than to fulfil, especially given the questionable independence of those (such as the presidentially-appointed heads of the police and ACB) who are in charge of the fight against corruption and the fact that politicians have been known - for example during Bingus tenure - to stop investigations into theft at the Ministry of Finance, even though they should not be able to intervene in cases such as that. When journalists asked the president whether she would fire some of the ministers and heads of departments connected to the looting to pave way for investigations, the president defended them saying they were helping in the fight against corruption and that there was no evidence implicating them. However, a day later she fired all her ministers. And Malawians now expect her to do more. And their expectations are high that she will appoint people of integrity and that the new cabinet will be leaner than before because Malawis small economy does not need over 30 ministers. But she needs to do even more than that. Bandas dissolution of the cabinet indicates that she is now determined to tackle corruption in the top corridors of power. But her cull of the cabinet will look like a smokescreen if she stops there. She also needs to shake up and overhaul the heads of the various departments because no junior clerk can siphon money away without the approval - or at least knowledge - of senior figures in the department. The other issue that president Banda will have to deal with is the increasing controversy over whether she should publicly declare her assets. When Bingu was elected, he declared that his assets amounted to about K150 million - a figure that had swelled to K61 billion after eight years in office. Following his example - at least the declaring bit rather than the accumulation of huge wealth while president - Malawians now want Banda to own up to how much she has. So far she has refused, saying that her predecessors were not forced to publicly declare their assets and that people are only trying to force her to do so because she is a woman. Given the current corruption crisis, it is an increasingly difficult position to maintain. But if she can sack her cabinet, surely she can declare her assets? Meanwhile, it is not only Malawians who will be following things very closely. Some development partners have already issued warnings about the current crisis and suggested that if the situation is not handled properly they could withhold some of their budgetary support for the current financial year - a serious threat given that donor funds account for about 40 percent of Malawis national budget. Indeed, Norway has already announced the suspension of aid to Malawi. It is a very dangerous moment for Banda, especially as elections are just six months away. Investigations need to be swift and credible - and they must pursue any possible suspects, however powerful, without fear or favour. If Malawians feel that the process is more talk than action, Bandas chances at the 2014 elections will be severely hampered. But if the crisis is well-handled and people believe that Banda is getting to grips with corruption, then this could be her electoral trump card - proving her leadership and her determination to tackle looting and plunder. Either way, come the presidential polls in 2014, people will look back at this as a pivotal week in the campaign. Kenya: Still Missing a Month After Westgate Mall Attack Page 2
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 07:16:46 +0000
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