Malawi President Chooses New Cupboard

The reshuffle follows July twenty protests against the worsening economic situation and daily shortages of fuel and foreign exchange despite official annual growth figures of seven percent or more.

Among the changes is the removal of former finance minister Ken Kandodo, a grand nephew of the late dictator Kamuzu Banda and of the champion of the ‘zero-deficit budget.’  The French Press Agency says he wished to use native resources to interchange aid money lost when several donor nations cut their money support over concerns regarding poor governance.

Noel Mbowela, a political science lecturer at Mzuzu University, said he wondered regarding the qualifications of some of the new appointees, together with the new Minister of Finance, Ken Limpenga.

“One wonders the logic,” he said, “behind appointing someone who could be a linguist to the position of the finance minister that would befit someone with a background in economics.”

Besides Mr. Kandodo, different casualties embody former native government minister Anna Kachikho, former development designing and cooperation minister Abbie Shawa,  and former foreign affairs minister Professor Etta Banda.

Former Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe now features a portfolio in environment Ministry. The South Africa Press Agency says Gondwe, a former senior official of the IMF, are tasked with making an attempt to resume international aid flows to Malawi.  Nearly $100 million dollars in aid was suspended eight years ago owing to concerns regarding government overspending.

The Malawi Democrat newspaper says government leader in parliament, Dr George Chaponda, who was serving as Justice Minister, has been posted to a post he once handled, the Ministry of Education.  Justice and Constitutional Affairs has been given to Ephraime Chiume.

Also returning to the cupboard, says the paper, is information Minister Patricia ‘Akweni’ Kaliati who becomes government spokesperson and Henry Mussa as minister of public works.

It says Yunus Mussa has been appointed minister of Lands, Aaron Sangala as minister of Internal Security, Daniel Liwimbe as minister of tourism and Dr Jean Kalirani as health minister.  John Bande is minister of rade.

Political scientist Noel Mbowela said one in all the biggest surprises in the new cupboard is the removal of the country’s vp Joyce Banda.  She’s been a critic of the administration, and was expelled from the ruling party.

“This could be a very big anomaly.” he said, ” because the vp was elected through the vote, if anything she was alleged to appear similar to the president in all the cupboard appointments.’’

The President’s younger brother and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate for 2014, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, has been moved from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mutharika’s wife Callista remains in the cupboard despite criticism from opposition politicians and civil rights groups who had demanded that the primary girl should be confined to charity programs.

SAPA says the secretary of the presidency and therefore the cupboard, Bright Msaka, said that the appointments were based on “individual advantage, faith and gender balance.”

The new members of the cupboard are sworn in at New State House in the capital Lilongwe on Thursday.