Chakwera storms Capital Hill, demands answers for civil servants’ salaries delay
President Lazarus Chakwera on Thursday stormed the Capital Hill without warning and questioned controlling officers in the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD) on why civil servants had not yet received their August salaries.
Nyasa Times has information that public servants were supposed to have their salaries remitted by last week but to-date have not been wired.
Chakwera, who was accompanied by his deputy Saulos Chilima and Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Zangazanga Chikhosi, was coming from the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) where he presided over the launch of Scaling Up Nutrition 3.0.
“While on the way to State House, he [President Chakwera] directed the motorcade that it goes to the Capital Hill. Upon arrival, the President visited two offices and asked whether they had received their salaries to which they said no.
“From there, the President proceeded to the DHRMD, the department responsible, and interrogated the Controlling Officer (CO) on the chronic delay and openly expressed his great displeasure at the delays,” said a State House official who did not want to be named.
According to the official, President Chakwera has demanded that a report on the problem and the remedial measures to be taken to urgently resolve the it be submitted to his office tomorrow [Friday] for his continued intervention.
Social commentator, Jackson Msiska, hailed President Chakwera for the act, saying it showed that he was also concerned with the malaise about civil servants’ unfortunate predicament.
“The President needs to do more these across the board in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). These shake-ups must come often so that no one is found sitting on their jobs,” Msiska.
But Msiska advised senior public officers not to always wait for the President before they could start performing.
“It is unfortunate that it had to reach to the extent of the President storming Capital Hill. These people know what they are supposed to do and when. They have a well laid out job description. Public officers must learn to do their jobs without being pushed at all,” he said.
Chakwera and Chilima will go to capital hill again for this issue or for other issues if system are not streamlined. They say 95% of our problems are due to people and 5% due to machinery. The attitude has to change and need civil servants that go to capital Hill to work and not seek allowances. The two leaders have to be decisive in making sure that there are real drivers in the system. The people you put in place have to drive the agenda through their character. If you have people like Nundwe running the army and using the military police to break the law, that is not leadership. Leadership should have values and when you are leading, people have to see your influence. Clean up the Nundwes who think that their positions are above the law. The entire mayor of Lilongwe apologising to the army commander after the the commander breaks the law. What an abuse of power! And and he still goes ahead to build in the road reserve – onse ziiiiii, mantha. Eiiiiiish, watonse uja siameneyu. Iyi ndi animal farm!! His fence has to be flattened!! We demand
FOSEKI
We also need head count as the whole civil service payroll system is full of Gost workers. The government is losing a lot of money ndi mbava from capital hill
Can you see the samosas on the counter? Someone is trying to make ends meet
The samoosa seller needs to be praised. This one is the one who is innocent. He/she is not a thief.
FOSEKI
You don’t sell samosas in office. You may sell out the building. Kenaka we will have kanyenya, bananas, utaka in all government offices
Chakwera should stop worrying about optics (his image) and should instead start worrying about improving the lives of Malawians in general. He asked his Vice to conduct a study into civil service reform. His Vice acted swiftly, but sadly “reviewing” the resultant report is taking longer than it took to conduct the study itself!
There are numerous examples of actions Chakwera should have taken months and months ago, but he has not because he is scared about how people are going to react. As a leader you should not be scared about making an unpopular decision: As long as you are sure that it is going to benefit the majority of the people. This is the only test. Ultimately is my decision going to improve the lives of more people than those it is going to make worse off? Joe Biden has made an unpopular decision to pull out of Afghanistan (and there have been chaos) but ultimately Americans are going to appreciate that the decision to pull out of an endless and pointless war was the best thing to do. This is how a decisive leader should behave…
Fire fighting antics like the trip to DHRMD will not ultimately improve matters; across the board civil service reform will. Family members, advisers, cabinet ministers, CSOs should intensify calls for LMC to make prompt decisions. After all he campaigned for this job to improve the lives of Malawians; not just to stroke his ego.
Malawians did not elect LMC to engage in endless “consultations”, as his spokespersons euphemistically refer to his indecisiveness. The elected him to ACT on their behalf.
It’s like upon arrival of the president the civil servants got paid.
Thanks bwana, Mukayenderenso ku Treasury kumene akuchita fund mochedwa ma government funding hence delaying zitukuko. Tatopa nawo anthu amenenewa. They even fund less than half of the fundings without explanation. Treasuty is the hub of all problems the government is facing needs overhaul.
Malawi walero – waiting for someone to push you in order to do ur job
This reminds me of Heinz Doorfen and Perry The Platypus. Heinz Doorfen demands a report on civil service reform. Perry is quick to produce it. But Heinz is stuck in mindset change! [Phineas and Ferb in sept 2021]
Would think with computer system provided by the people of Germany and the UK payroll would be sutomatic each month. Many countries pay their employees every two weeks as should Malawi. It is not like every employee needs an adjustment each month. Problem with Malawi failure to plan long term rediculous hearing a workshop or graduation is scheduled days in advance like payroll. Never heard of day, weeks,months, years not coming about life and time continue outside Malawi.
Namondwe pa Capital City 🤟
Chakwerafying with Chilima at the Hill there were no drums to herald his arrival
The duo was received with apprehension by the civil servants who are below par in their laissez faire mood torturing the whole government machinery by withholding their dues.
It’s time you smoked out the Ifmis ghosts haunting the corridors of Capital Hill. They’ve nailed the civil service to mediocrity we must paste any political labels to these dunderheads they ought to carry their own cross to the terminus