Chakwera’s cabinet reshuffle on the ‘March’

President Lazarus Chakwera will name his new cabinet  by Wednesday March 31, 2021, the presidential spokesman has disclosed.

State House Press Secretary, Brian Banda confirmed the development on Monday in Lilongwe during the weekly State House brief.

“I can independently confirm that in the next two days President Chakwera will announce his cabinet,” said Banda  responding to a question from a journalist.

“There are two days left before the first quarter of 2021 ends and as the president promised that he will reshuffle the cabinet at the of this month, and reshuffle his cabinet he will do,” said Banda.

Banda said president Chakwera is on course with ‘everything as regards cabinet reshuffle’ after conducting assessments on the ministers with his vice, Saulos Klaus Chilima.

He said: “The president made a promise to Malawians that at the end of the first quarter of 2021 he will review and and access each and member of his cabinet to ascertain as to who is performing and who is not.

“The process has been affected by the novel Covid-19 global pandemic, however, the president and his vice have done what was needed to be done and before March ends, a reshuffle would be done.”

President Chakwera came under intense fire for hiring members of the same family into his maiden cabinet.

Chakwera, appointed a 31- member cabinet, which included six figures who are related to each other, although not to the president.

Chakwera, 65, comfortably beat Peter Mutharika with 58.5 percent of the vote.

Malawians have voiced anger and rage after newly appointed President Lazarus Chakwera unveiled a cabinet that they said was tainted by family ties.

However,  Chakwera defended his decision by saying he appointed people into his cabinet based on merit and not based on who these people are related to or not related to.

“Each one of my ministers has been appointed as an individual and purely on merit,” said Chakwera’.

Meanwhile, the Malawi leader  will be hosting former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo and former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Boshe on Wednesday this week.