By Yohane Symon & Richard Chirombo
The Office of the Vice President has said Public Sector Reforms which are being implemented in government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAS) are on track. This comes at a time some stakeholders claim that the reforms suffered a blow after President Lazarus Chakwera refused to disclose contents of the reforms report.
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace is on record to have said the First Citizen sent the wrong message on his commitment to public sector reforms when he refused to make public a report he had commissioned on reforms.
It said the refusal made recommendations’ implementation difficult. On the other hand, economist Milward Tobias indicated, recently, that one of the loopholes of the reforms is that MDAs are asked to come up with reform areas, which he indicated is akin to giving a patient the leeway to make their own prognosis and prescribe medicines. However, Principal Secretary (PS) Responsible for Reforms in the Office of the Vice President Charles Kalemba said on Monday that the reforms were on course.
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“Malawians might not be able to notice the changes and progress of the reforms because most of the works are [done in the] background and require funding from the government [and not development partners]. “Some reforms require the use of technology.
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The reforms are very much alive and we will not tire until we improve service delivery to the public,” he said. Kalemba cited the Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) as one of the star performers.
“Examination fees are now being paid electronically, which has reduced cases of misappropriation of examination fees by some education authorities,” he said. The PS added that the reforms’ office was in the process of finalising modalities that would pave the way for the refurbishment of the Monkey Bay shipyard so that it could start handling cargo, be it in dry or liquid form.
And, speaking in Mangochi District on Monday when he visited Directorate of Road Traffic Services’ vehicle fitness testing facilities, which are expected to be operational by the end of this month, Kalemba said they wanted the reforms to transform the way institutions operate, thereby improving efficiency in service delivery. In his remarks, Directorate of Road Traffic Services Director Andrew Sandula said people of Mangochi and surrounding areas would, once the facilities are open, no longer be required to travel to Blantyre and Zomba to access road traffic services.
“We also have a similar office in Chikwawa and we are setting up another one in Karonga. The aim is to ensure that people are getting the services closer to home,” Sandula said. In 2023, Public Sector Reforms Management Department spokesperson Suzgo Khunga indicated that during the next circle of reforms contracts covering the period 2023 to 2026, the department would ensure that reforms were mainstreamed in MDAs’ annual budgets. On the other hand, the Malawi Public Sector Reforms Programme Report for 2020- 23 indicated that there was resistance to change in some MDAs, describing it as one of the hiccups reforms implementation work was facing.
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According to a Malawi Journal of Social Sciences (2023) article titled ‘Reforming the Public Sector in Malawi: A Gateway to Improved Service Delivery’ and written by Luckie K. Sikwese, Richard I.C. Tambulasi and Happy M. Kayuni, “Despite an abundance of literature on the public sector reform in Malawi, there is limited discussion or understanding on the quality of public service after each reform exercise”. And, in the Public Service Reforms Commission Final Report, the authors observe that “Since 1994 (the Public Service Act of 1994), the power to appoint senior officers in the public service, of positions above Under Secretary, is vested in the President and that there has been no provision for a due process of competitive interviews.
As a result, selection, appointments and promotions have mostly been based or seen as based on connections to one’s superiors or politicians rather than merit.
“There has been a notable lack of security of tenure in some prominent public offices such as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, the Chief Secretary to Government, the Director General of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, the Inspector General of Police, the Commander of the Malawi Defence Force, the Director General of the Anti- Corruption Bureau, and the Commissioner General of the Malawi Revenue Authority, as each new administration has tended to change the officers in these positions irrespective of the relevant Terms and Conditions of Service”.
As a result, the commission that came up with the report made the following recommendations: “I. The appointment of public officers above the post of Grade F should be on a fair, competitive, transparent, and merit-based selection process which responsibilities should be conferred on the Public Service Commission. The President’s powers of appointing should be limited to the approval of the results of the selection process from Public Service Commission.
“The relevant legislation and regulations should be amended accordingly. II. The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) should constantly orient Ministers and Principal Secretaries about their roles and responsibilities to avoid conflicts and to bring about a conducive working relationship…,” the final report reads.
