Cabinet Material: Trans World Radio to screen potential ministers
As Malawians patiently wait for their first ever tripartite elections on May 20 this year, one of the country’s Christian radio stations, Trans World (TWR), has lunched a new radio programme aimed at giving electorates an opportunity to screen and contribute to the calibre of ministers.
The programme is called Cabinet Material and will run between January and June 2014.
Initially, the programme will be weekly (Wednesday evening from 8.00pm) but after May 20, it will start featuring cabinet ministers.
“While it is the state president’s prerogative to choose a minister, it is also true that the chosen holds certain qualifications for the ministerial post,” TWR National Coordinator, Victor Kaonga, told Nyasa Times.
“TWR is, therefore, keen to contribute to the success of the elected government by profiling persons who think they are a cabinet material.”
Kaonga said the programme would reach all Malawians of voting age and the audience will be required to vote by SMS if the Cabinet Material really qualifies or not. The views would later be shared in the subsequent editions.
He said TWR believed while the country has adequate and fully qualified Malawians to fill the positions at ward, parliamentary and presidential levels, the outcome of the elections would also determine the kind of executive, National Assembly and the Local Government Malawi to be put in place after May 20, 2014.
The 30-minute programme would be bilingual with resource persons include all political candidates that feel qualified to serve in the Malawi Cabinet of Ministers based on their respective professional, political, academic and personal qualifications.
“The programme shall expect that resource persons think nationally and strategically. They will be expected to spell out what policy issues they might introduce or facilitate if given a cabinet role. These will be persons that are contesting for the first time,” he said.
According to Kaonga, the programme while using journalistic approach of interviews in both English and Chichewa will help raise the profile of political candidates and challenge them to think and act nationally.
“TWR looks forward to setting the Malawi cabinet agenda by influencing the caliber of persons to serve as cabinet ministers,” said Kaonga.
He said the radio believed all appointed or elected public servants have an obligation to the Malawian voter and through the Cabinet Material radio programme it hoped that a new Malawi will be set.
Kaonga said it was being called Cabinet Material to emphasize (cabinet) the national, strategic and policy scope of the issues to be featured.
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