President Lazarus Chawera has provided reasons for failing to name his full cabinet before July 6.
Chakwera last week promised to announce the full cabinet no later than July 6 which was also his inauguration day.
In his day 10 report posted on his Facebook page today, the president said he and Vice President Saulos Chilima have decided to vet the list of cabinet nominees before appointing them.
“Dr. Chilima and I decided to subject the list to another battery of scrutiny in order to be doubly sure that we are offering Malawians a well-balanced team of high-performing servant leaders who will bring forth the fruits of our Tonse Philosophy.
“As such, I thank you for your patience with this rigorous process and beg your pardon for the necessary delay, though I will be announcing the cabinet any day now,” said Chakwera.
The Malawi leader on Monday last week appointed four cabinet ministers – Richard Chimwendo as Minister of Homeland Security, Chilima as Economic Planning minister, Felix Mlusu as Minister of Finance and Modercai Msiska as Minister of Justice. Msiska, however, refused to take up the position.
During the swearing in of Mlusu and Chimwendo, the Malawi president promised to form a cabinet of no more than 30 members, of which no less than 12 are to be women.
In his statement today, he noted that the number of qualified people under consideration exceeds the number of cabinet portfolios.
“For this reason, the task requires considerable thought and prayer on our part and will require understanding and trust on yours. What is certain is that we will still need the remarkable men and women who end up not getting a cabinet appointment this time around to be put to good use elsewhere in the service of Malawians.
“This is because the work of draining the swamp, clearing the rubble, overhauling the rotten systems of the state, and building new systems cannot be the preserve of Cabinet Ministers alone,” said Chakwera.
