Government workers planning to contest for political office in the 2019 Tripartite Elections have been told to resign from the civil service.
In a letter addressed to heads of departments as well as chiefs of parastatals and government institutions, Chief Secretary to the Government Lloyd Muhara has said civil servants should first resign before contesting in political party primaries ahead of the elections.
According to Muhara, this is to ensure that the civil servants should not contravene the Malawi Constitution and the Malawi Public Service Regulation.
“Section 193 of the Constitution provides for the independence and neutrality of the public service. Furthermore it is a misconduct for a public servant to engage in political activities as provided in Regulation 1:201 (24) of the Malawi Public Service Regulation.
“I therefore wish to advise those public servants that wish to run for political office to first resign from their public service position or retire if they qualify, prior to embarking on their political campaign. Including participation in primary elections,” says Muhara in the letter.
