Government not for Lhomwe’s only – Dausi

Government has refuted claims that most top positions in the government system are held by Lhomwe people.

In a statement issued by Nicholas Dausi who is government spokesperson and information minister, goverment has claimed that some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are attempting to create a perception that all top positions in the public sector are occupied by one tribe.

According to government,  the NGOs are using selective information to impress upon their believers that appointments to key positions in the public service are dominated by one tribe and not balanced in terms of tribal groups.

“[They] want the public to believe that it is wrong for His Excellency President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika to appoint anyone from his tribe no matter how well qualified and deserving such a Malawian may be. Noise always erupts every time Mutharika appoints a Lhomwe, anyone from Thyolo or the surrounding region.

“On the contrary, there is always disturbing silence when anyone outside the Lhomwe tribe is appointed or promoted into key positions. It also needs to be set on record that what the President has mostly done in his appointments is only to redeploy people who were already serving in the public service. Most of the officers were already serving in high positions in the public service,” says the statement .

Government has also claimed that the Mutharika administration balances when appointing people in various positions.

“Let it be remembered that the following arms of Government and departments are headed by meriting Malawians who are not Lhomwes: The Vice Presidency; The Judiciary; The Legislature; Malawi Police Services; Malawi Prison Services; Immigration Department; All public universities, to cite but a few. In our 20 member Cabinet, which is the highest decision-making committee in the country, we have only three Lhomwes in the the Cabinet. As a matter of fact, there is no single Minister from Thyolo where the President comes from. It is incorrect and wrong to create a deceptive perception that all “top jobs” are dominated by the Lhomwes,” the statement says.

Meanwhile, government has urged Malawians to be objective when faced with debates on any cultural grouping in the country.

On its part, the Mutharika administration has promised to continue to ensure equitable distribution of resources and development regardless of the origins of who makes the decisions.