TONSE GOVERNMENT REPORT: DAY 40
Greetings Malawi,
May it please you to receive this latest report of my efforts to improve your welfare. In the past ten days, I have done the following things to roll out my delivery of the Hi-5 Agenda:
- SERVANT LEADERSHIP
• I replaced the Principal Secretaries of 21 ministries. The newly appointed Secretaries have been carefully selected for their established track record of professionalism and resolve to build a culture of discipline and efficiency within the civil service as a way of reorienting the public sector towards delivery of quality service and reforms.
• I appointed a new Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs to ensure that preparations and provisions for future disasters are substantial enough and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic are comprehensive enough to leave no region of Malawi underserved. Since the Department of Disaster Management is in my office, I engaged the Commissioner and his team of Directors to orient them to my vision for serving Malawians in this time of risk and danger.
• I met with the Former President of the Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM), as well as a delegation from Hope for the Blind, to chart a way forward for advancing the welfare of vulnerable groups as a matter of law and human rights.
• I subjected myself to public scrutiny by allowing the press to hold me to account for my actions and decisions as a servant of the people, including becoming the first sitting President to appear on Tiuzeni Zoona, which will air this Sunday.
- UNITING MALAWIANS
• I held candid and meaningful discussions with members of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) to build consensus around how to work as partners in building bridges across the divides that are fueled by such phenomena as religious intolerance and regionalism.
• I hosted a delegation of Senior Chiefs from Malawi’s southern region as a first step towards fully engaging traditional leaders across Malawi in developing mechanisms for ensuring that development reaches all Malawians regardless of region or tribe.
- PROSPERING TOGETHER
• I engaged Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Global about my resolve to see Malawi connected to the network of fiber technology by which other African countries are interconnected via high-speed and cheap internet and increasing financial transactions across borders. Since Strive is also the African Union’s Special Envoy on Africa’s Covid-19 Response, we also discussed at length the facilities and tools that my Administration will leverage for victory over the pandemic in the next few weeks.
• I hosted a 7-member delegation from the Women’s Manifesto Movement and heard their assessment of the 38% representation of women in my first Cabinet, the highest in Malawi’s history, and we discussed ways we can work together to build on this towards a level playing field for women.
• I met individually with 10 different Cabinet Ministers to follow up on progress related to the Key Performance Indicators they are striving towards to deliver core Tonse Alliance promises, including jobs for youth, loans for women, and cheap fertilizer for farmers.
- ENDING CORRUPTION
• I appointed a new Accountant General to ensure that every Kwacha of your taxes is accounted for and no Tambala is wasted.
• I appointed a new Comptroller of Statutory Corporations to end the legacy of siphoning funds from state-owned companies for the benefit of political parties.
• I engaged world class governance experts and consultants to glean their insights on streamlining the governance apparatus of a newly elected Administration like mine to cut waste and excess for the purpose of expediting development.
• I updated the Declaration of my Assets with the Directorate of Asset Declaration, which is scrutinizing my records as required by law, to set the standard I expect of every member of my Administration without exception.
- RULE OF LAW
• I had a great interface with the Ombudsman and her delegation to agree on the kind of partnership my Administration should pursue with her office in order to ensure that State institutions and officials are the first to obey the law, not the first to break it.
• I held consultations with the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly to begin making plans for safe and meaningful deliberations of Parliament from September 4th, for there are a litany of bad laws to replace and good laws to strengthen.
• I attended a closed-door virtual summit with fellow SADC Heads of State & Government, during which we reached a 7-point agreement for ensuring that peace and stability prevail in all SADC countries for the sustainability of the rule of law across the region.
• I sat down with the Director of Malawi Legal Aid Bureau to discuss how my Administration will support the Bureau’s efforts to normalize access to justice for citizens who cannot afford paid legal services.
• I hosted a judicial delegation led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to gain a deeper understanding of what my Administration can do to strengthen the Judiciary and help it maintain both its global reputation as a bastion of justice and independence.
At Your Service,
Lazarus M. Chakwera,
State President.