Just last month, the Public Appointments Committee (Pac) of Parliament ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recall all officers that are working as principal officers at various embassies.
It has singled out those whose appointments were not approved by members of the committee.
Pac Chairperson Joyce Chitsulo ‘ordered’ the ministry to take that course of action when its officials, led by principal secretary Bernard Sande, appeared before members of the committee on Tuesday last week.
“Where there is no ambassador or high commissioner, the one in control is the principal officer who needs the country’s approval, through Pac, to represent us,” Chitsulo pointed out.
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As such, committee members informed Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials that whoever was sent out after January 2024—when Pac wrote the ministry on the issue— is regarded as working illegally at whatever high commission and embassy they have been posted to.
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Committee members further claimed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been sending principal officers to embassies and consulates without confirmation from Pac.
“The committee emphasises that the Public Finance Management Act subjects controlling officers to it… We want to avoid a case of abuse where a government can decide to send acting officers for a period of, say, four years to avoid the Public Accounts Committee,” Chitsulo said.
According to Chitsulo, such a best practice [seeking Pac’s approval] was adhered to up to 2018.
That time, she said, all principal officers, including consular generals, were appearing before Pac for confirmation before they started work.
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Responding to the committee, Sande backed the decision, saying appointments to the position of Charge d’Affaires do not require one to go through that process.
It is a point that Foreign Affairs Minister Nancy Tembo reiterated recently.
Tembo pointed out that the ministry understands the laws of the country, such that, in the case of Charge d’Affaires, it does the right thing.
One can see this issue being taken to the wire, more so because Pac seems to be dictating issues.
The problem is, the Executive seems to prefer ‘amicable’ discussions to directives.
This is happening when a National Audit Office (Nao) report has indicated that in the period ending June 30 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not account for K7,582,464,940.61 of taxpayers money.
The consolidated funding reports and approved budget for the embassies revealed that the ministry overfunded some embassies by K785,899,388.00.
However, the audit team was not furnished with any information explaining why some of the embassies got funding over and above the approved budget.
The report adds that it was difficult for the audit team to establish if the overfunded funds were meant for genuine activities.
Parliamentary committee business or personal opinion?
In some cases, it has become difficult for one to deduce whether chairpersons, deputy chairpersons or even other members of parliamentary committees are raising points on issues from a Parliament point of view or from a personal one.
This has the unintended consequence of making issues look more personal than official, thereby reducing parliamentary committees’ chances of getting a positive response from the Executive, further straining the relationship between the two.
Take, for instance, the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) issue.
Last week, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture gave the Ministry of Agriculture seven days to release this year’s AIP implementation report or face a Parliament audit on the programme.
Committee chairperson Sameer Suleman said Malawians were still in the dark on the issue of how the Ministry of Agriculture used about K117 billion of public resources for implementation of the 2023-24 programme.
“Malawians want to know how much was used for the programme, how much fertiliser was bought, how many people benefitted, what have been the weaknesses and strengths?” Suleman said.
However, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said his ministry had already provided all the needed information surrounding the programme, adding that the committee can access the information at the ministry.
The question is, if the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture chairperson is not sure about when the report was presented, then to whom was it presented?
Needless to say Kawale has maintained that last season’s AIP was a success as about 94 percent of beneficiaries accessed fertiliser.
“We have provided the information on AIP many times and the committee is welcome to audit [the programme]. How would you rate 94 percent of beneficiaries accessing fertiliser [and you say the programme flopped]?” Kawale said.
Executive’s full bowl
If the Executive branch of the government were a man, we would surely say the man is pressed.
For, in-between exchanges of words between those in the Executive and Legislature, the Judiciary has been fighting for other issues, notably improved welfare, as well.
Things came to a stand-still on Thursday two weeks ago, when magistrates and judicial support staff started a nationwide sit-in as one way of forcing the Executive arm of the government to review salaries and conditions of service.
As such, Malawi Judiciary Members of Staff Union and members of the Executive met in Lilongwe the following day, when they discussed issues pertaining to how they could resolve differences that culminated in the industrial strike.
Publicity Secretary of Malawi Judiciary Members of Staff Union, Andy Haliwa, indicated at the time that they wanted the Executive to act on their grievances.
“We are pleased that the State House intervened by delegating Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Mr Ephraim Chivunde, who called for a roundtable where we also spoke with the Minister of Finance [Simplex Chithyola Banda] through the phone,” Haliwa said.
In Blantyre, the sit-in started with members of staff shutting down the main entrance of the Judiciary headquarters with tree branches while chanting songs.
This was happening when, just metres away, President Lazarus Chakwera was expected to open this year’s Trade Fair at the Chichiri Trade Fair Grounds.
In Mzuzu and Lilongwe cities, as well as all parts of the country, no vehicle and unauthorised person were allowed entry into court premises.
On his part, Ministry of Finance spokesperson Williams Banda indicated that negotiations on the issue have been ongoing.
In the end, looking at the interplay between members of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary in the country, it is clear that, every now and then, the ceiling that separates the three branches drops lower than expected.
It is an interplay that is healthy but should be watched closely.
The citizenry can only hope that no member of any of the branches looks at members of other branches with muted fury.
