State House says President Lazarus Chakwera will not make public the taskforce report which contains recommendations on reforming the government systems of allowances, procurements and employment contracts.
Presidential Press Secretary Brian Banda revealed this today at the weekly press briefing at Mtunthama state residence in Lilongwe today.
Vice President Saulos Chilima led a taskforce that reviewed the government systems of procurement, allowances and employment contracts. The taskforce presented the report to Chakwera on Friday last week.
There were calls from civil society organisations over the weekend for Chakwera to make public the report.
However, Banda said today that Chakwera will not share the report with the public but he will review the recommendations made in the report and later make decisions based on the recommendations.
“Let the president review the recommendations and when he makes a decision based on these recommendations, Malawians will be told,” he said.
Banda also argued that Chakwera receives recommendations from ministers, religious groups and other sectors but these are not made public.
Speaking earlier, State House Director of Communications Sean Kampondeni insisted that the recommendations are not in public interest.
“It is standard practise in the presidency to process recommendation internally and then only making public the decisions made,” said Kampondeni
Reacting to the president’s refusal to release the report, social commentator Onjezani Kenani suggested that the president is having second thoughts on civil service reforms because he is now thinking about the 2025 elections.
Said Kenani: “The truth is taking tough decisions on reform has been sacrificed for the sake of 2025. Obsession with power. Real reform can only take place by taking tough and unpopular decisions, including dismissing dead wood in the civil service. Only leadership that will not be obsessed with the next election will be able to do that. As it is, each set of leaders, once elected, they forget the present and think only of the next election but not of the next generation.”
