By Edward Chitsulo – SANF 04 no 52
It has taken over two weeks for Malawi’s newly-sworn in President Bingu wa Mutharika to come up with a cabinet, perhaps signifying the cautious approach being taken by the new government.
In his swearing-in ceremony speech on 24 May 2004, President Mutharika impressed many quarters, including his strongest critics, the church and civil society groups.
Mutharika outlined a number of instruments to turn the economy round following increasing poverty since the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) took over the government in 1994.
The selection of “a lean cabinet”, to use Mutharika’s own inaugural words, is expected by all, especially the donor community who have indicated that new talks with the Mutharika regime would start upon appointment of “a cabinet and a competent finance minister.”
Challenges derive from the need to include other political stakeholders in the cabinet if government is to function at all. Mutharika’s UDF garnered only 49 seats in a 193-seat parliament. The majority parliamentary winner was the MCP, with 60 seats. The next were independents, with 38 seats. The rest of the seats were shared among the Mgwirizano Coalition of seven parties, including the 16 seats won by the Coalition’s leader Gwanda Chakuamba’s Republican Party (RP).
For Mutharika, the tough task is to get John Tembo’s 60 (MCP) seats to government side, which is unlikely as the opposition leader has vowed he would never work with the UDF. The same uphill task is to get the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the next second biggest opposition party in the South to rally with the UDF.
However, in a surprise move, Chakuamba and a fellow Coalition partner, MGODE (Movement for Genuine Democracy) have joined ranks with government, a move that has irked those who felt that Chakuamba was a better compromise among the five presidential candidates.
The people also had confidence in him because for the last 40 years or so, Chakuamba has not been associated with corruption, fraudulent dealings or deceit.
Mutharika has drawn on support from Muluzi in trying to put together a cabinet that would match his inaugural speech while ensuring a policy of inclusion.
Before appointing the cabinet, Mutharika’s first foreign trip as president was to attend the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) summit in Uganda, leaving the country to be run by a deputy president, an acting secretary to the cabinet and principal secretaries.
Despite tensions arising from incidences of post-electoral violence, the church, some civil society groups, industry captains, some trade unions and sections of the public have all said they would give Mutharika a chance to match his words with action.
It does seem that Mutharika has the will to move. Already the Reserve Bank of Malawi’s lending rate has dropped from 35 to 25 percent, a move that has been hailed as a major thrust to Malawi’s economic recovery because the cost of borrowing by businesses has gone down.
Meanwhile, business in both government and the private sector is adopting a wait-and-see attitude. (SARDC)
