Chakwera vows to fire lazy, nonperforming public and civil servants
Malawi President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera says he will not hesitate to dismiss from employment those he appointed to a position of service if “it becomes clear that they are failing to do their job and failing to produce the results I promised to deliver to Malawians.”
Chakwera made the remarks at Malindi Community Ground in Mangochi when he handed over modern and decent houses to Malamyas Police Mobile Service Camp.
The President emphasized that for the past two years, his focus has been to lay a strong foundation for a prosperous future for all Malawians; hence, he would not hesitate to relieve public and civil servants who are bent on frustrating his efforts to developing this country.
“I do not want a government full of people who are complacent or who feel too entitled to work hard for Malawians. The only people I want working around me are those driven by a desire to produce outstanding performance, and the only culture I want to promote in the public service is one that rewards top performers and puts those whose work and results are substandard on the bench or off the team,” said Chakwera.
Using the analogy of a team coach, Chakwera said his responsibility is to build a team that is measured only by performance and that the same should apply to everyone in Malawi who has the power to appoint or give contracts.
“Even at Cabinet level, or in public institutions, or at statutory corporations, or in foreign missions, or in my own office, no one who is directly appointed by me should think that they will keep their job simply because of their tribe or region of origin, or because they are popular on social media, or because they belong to MCP or a Tonse Alliance party, or because of their gender, or because they hold a seat in Parliament with a vocal constituency.
“My only mission is to serve Malawians, and so I will not keep anyone I have appointed to a position of service when it becomes clear that they are failing to do their job and failing to produce the results I promised to deliver to Malawians.
“So, if you have been appointed to any public office by me, ask yourself this question today and every day: Is there someone who can do my job better than I am doing it now? If the answer is yes, then you should know that that person is the one Malawi needs in the position you hold, and my job is to find them,” he said.
The Malawi leader stressed the need for Malawians to lay strong foundations, which he said had been systematically destroyed by the previous administrations.
He observed that Malawi had building manufacturing plants, which added value to things citizens produced.
Chakwera cited Dr. Kamuzu Banda, Malawi’s first President, who he did not want Malawi to be a country that imports everything.
“He made sure that industries were built to ensure that clothes could be manufactured here, refreshments could be manufactured here, biscuits could be manufactured here, sugar could be manufactured here, and many other things. But, instead of building on this foundation, we spent the next twenty-six years allowing that foundation to be destroyed,” he said.
He concurred with Malawi’s university lecturer finest minds, Prof. Danwood Chirwa, who heads the faculty of law at South Africa’s top university, who identified failure by public officers to do what they were employed for as Malawi’s biggest obstacle is to tackle her poverty.
He appealed to the police officers to not to tire doing their work professionally and with integrity.
Chakwera reminded men and women in uniform that the perception among Malawians about police officers is that they are the most corrupt.
“My appeal to the public is to support the police, because this is not a country of gangsters, mob justice, lawlessness, and taking the law into our own hands. So let us not gang up on police officers or gang up to destroy public property. I also appeal to Chiefs and Traditional Leaders to discourage mob justice in the communities they lead. We must restore the rule of law in our country to rebuild the foundation of a just society,” said the President.
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