Malawi’s Catholic Church has criticised President Peter Mutharika’s administration over what it describes as the growing politicisation of public appointments, warning that loyalty to the ruling party is being placed ahead of merit and competence.
The concerns were raised by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), which said appointments to government institutions, parastatals and diplomatic missions should be based on qualifications, integrity and professional ability rather than political affiliation.
The commission warned that continued political appeasement in public appointments risks weakening state institutions and compromising service delivery.
“There has been a persistent and sustained pattern of political appeasement influencing appointments, transfers, secondments and dismissals within the public sector,” the commission said in a statement released on Friday.
According to CCJP, some competent public servants have been sidelined or replaced while appointments in state-owned enterprises, parastatals and diplomatic missions continue to be influenced by political patronage, including the placement of loyalists and party affiliates.
“This practice continues while violating the spirit of Section 4 of the Public Service Act which emphasizes merit, integrity, aptitude and professionalism appointments. Such politically motivated staffing decisions continue to undermine institutional efficiency, weaken public trust, and compromise the ability of the state to deliver services effectively and consistently,” worried the Commission.
CCJP warned that politically motivated appointments weaken institutional efficiency, reduce accountability and erode public confidence in public institutions, ultimately affecting the quality of services delivered to ordinary Malawians.
The organisation stressed that Malawi’s recovery from governance and service delivery challenges depends on recruiting and appointing qualified individuals based on competence rather than political connections.
It further argued that the continued use of public positions as rewards for loyalty risks entrenching inefficiency within institutions that are expected to drive national development and deliver essential services.
CCJP has since called for deliberate legal, policy and strategic measures to depoliticise recruitment and appointments across the public sector, saying strong institutions can only be built when merit takes precedence over political appeasement.
“The government should ensure that there are deliberate measures by putting in place legal, policy and strategic measure to de-politicize recruitment and appointments,” it added.
The Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee has recently been vetting several key appointments by the DPP administration, including Brian Banda as MBC Director General, the new MACRA Director General, and a number of ambassadors and high commissioners, amid public concerns over political patronage.
