Chilima assembles team to clean up Malawi govt system:  To deal with mafia-like criminal enterprise, restructure civil service

February 19, 2021 Wongani Chiuta - Nyasa Times 72 Comments

Government has set up a 14 member taskforce led by vice president Saulos Chilima to look into civil service reforms on allowances, procurement and employment contracts.

Chilima: To clean up civil service

This follows the directive by President Lazarus Chakwera, on February 14, 2021, that Chilima must form and lead a special taskforce to comprehensively review the three government systems of allowances, procurement, and employment contracts.

According to a statement signed by Press officer for the Veep, Pilirani Phiri, the taskforce, to be chaired by Chilima, who is also Minister responsible for Economic Planning and Development and Public Sector Reforms, will submit its recommendations to Chakwera within 90 days.

The taskforce will hold its first meeting on Thursday, 25th February 2021 to agree on the procedures including an action plan with clear timelines.

“Thereafter, the task team will ensure that the public is regularly engaged and that the taskforce is held accountable by both His Excellency the President and the people of Malawi,” the statement reads in part.

The taskforce will be supported by a team of technocrats within the civil service from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), the Public Sector Reforms, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Finance, among others.

The following are members of the taskforce:

  1. Associate Professor Ronald Mangani
  2. Professor Nyovani Madise
  3. Associate Professor Ngeyi Kanyongolo
  4. Professor Wiseman Chijere Chirwa
  5. Dr. Aubrey Mvula
  6. Dr. Henry Chingaipe
  7. Mr. Steve Matenje SC
  8. Mr. Waki Mushani
  9. Mr. John Suzi Banda
  10. Rev. Elsie Tembo
  11. Ms. Tione Chilambe
  12. Mrs. Zunzo Mitole
  13. Ms. Nwazi Mnthambala
  14. Ms. Jane Kambalame

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72 replies on “Chilima assembles team to clean up Malawi govt system:  To deal with mafia-like criminal enterprise, restructure civil service”

  2. Quite a Team I must say. UI can only wish the committee well.
    Good thing is that we have been assured there will periodic updates during the 90 days and this will give us a feel of how the task is shaping up.
    My appeal is that the Team must as much as possible utilise modern methods of communication to reduce physical meetings and the associated allowances.
    All the best!

  3. ALL WHAT IS DISCUSSED FALLS SHORT OF MENTIONING IF OUR MPS AND OTHER POLITICIANS WILL ALSO STOP POCKETING ALLOWANCES

    IF THEY’LL BE EXCLUDED, IT WILL SHOW LACK OF SERIOUSNESS BY THE GOVERNEMENT. TREAT EQUALS AS EQUALS

  5. The first step is to have a conference with all controlling officers. Let them give you allowance structure for their departments or agencies and from their you can work out something. Allowances in government is a very contentious issue and people can even cast a spell on you for stopping payment of allowances. The best way to go is reduce number of civil servants and those who will remain pay them good salaries.

  6. Chilima needs to strp down He countryvtrotted telling the nation that he is implementing civil service reforms .That sud hv tackled corruption bcoz he and the gvt knew b4 they went to gorvern.

    What reforms was he on abt?Abweze ma allowance.
    Were reforms just for the camera?

  7. Monse adayambila ma reform a Chilima, mutu wake sumawoneka. A waste of time basi. Tsopano 6 years adakapanga ma reform. Zopusa basi kudya ma allowance nkumanenepa masaya. Kodi nchiyani chomwe apange chatsopano?

  8. Bwana mangani awo Tinali nawo limodzi. He never helped in anyway.. Lero akakuwuzani chani? We are tired of text book logic.

  9. Aaaaaa. Bwana chilima. The team is poorly constituted…. You need two or three mid level civil servants for you to appreciate the real problem. Osati ma PS. MA PS amangosekelelatu. They are idiots……. You also need people from the private sector…… Muzikapanga ma comparison bwino bwino.

  10. The so called “team” does not inspire any hope. It is full of academicians who know nothing about civil service. No one is practical enough. Even chilima himself is not practical enough when it comes to Civil Service. Anangochenjera pakamwa.

  12. Dr Joe Biden? Dr Thabo Mbeki? Dr Nelson Mandela RIP? Dr Paul Kagame, Dr Museveni?Dr Obasanjo, Dr Putin?…Malawi with it’s good for nothing Doctors! Shame!

  13. On the issue of allowance, i believe it will start with this committee. Let no single penny of money be given to them inform of allowances.
    Walk the talk😊

  15. Allowance syndrome starts from above going down to a guard. Remember trips he made just after election, he need to account for that as well. Those trips had nothing to this country, may you please pay back

  17. kodi nkhaniyi yabwera chifukwa cha ndalama za covid-19? kapeni maganizowa analipo kale? zoona ndi zakuti; nktchito iyi siyamasewera; especially TORs; i see corapsed civil service because of this committee. be careful.

  18. Hold on. Phuma, phuma. Do not rush to talk about “cleaning” the civil service, defining professionals as “criminal enterprise” or “rubble” or “cadets.” Some thoughts:

    1. Most civil servants are knowledgeable, competent, well-trained but frustrated because of lack of resources.

    2. Most are demotivated because having worked in the system and aspired to be promoted, new governments put in their own people, who have no clue about policy direction.

    3. Corruption is all about the systems. Key word is “systems.” Joyce Banda sold a presidential plane, gave no coherent explanation on the proceeds and got away with it. Goodwell sold a whole Bank cheaply and got away with it. Phwiyo brazenly looted government resources and is getting away. Or a businessman pays millions to an account of a president and gets away with it.

    4. Thus this criminal enterprise is led by politicians, not civil servants. In fact the headquarters of Malawi’s criminal enterprises is the state house. Civil servants are just drafted in. See how Ben Hill accumulated so much wealth in a short time and our country is okay with it.

    My two dollars:

    1. Decriminalise the Presidency and the state house.

    2. Depoliticise the civil service, let people aspire for promotion and be rewarded.

    Just an afterthought VP, you need to have a business person in this team. And so too someone from financial intelligence.

    1. previous govts disabled the civil service with allowances. hence aliyese anasiya kuesersa kugwila ncito mwacilungamo poti ndalama zinkangomwazidwa kutapidwa kusakazika in the name of bankwetsi showbiz. 42 convoys. anaphedwapo ndindani than io kupha anthu osalakwa. makofu a dzanawa pali nkhanitu mwina sanamallize mission yao a dpp to the roughnecks in the name of blopd money ngati ma k10 million ajao!!! asanamizile kuti amakakamba za covid. kulibe task force ? mpaka nkhalamba zimene zija ? or amafuna sitting allowances like joji malemia stummerd on the question to it . sitting allowance ngati alibe matako?
      PALI NKHANI APA. corruption. apsa.

      aphuzitsi afuna kukaenda mmiseu.
      dana lija mmavomera kukamwa fanta ndi mbale ya mpunga luhonga the presdent. mukanakhala ena mukanamakana kuti muone bwino malipilo.
      Brainwashed.

      Ma civil servants anaenera kukhalapo ndithu. ali ndi maumboni ambili than a mmafile oculuka

  25. Dear Mr Chilima, I really wish you and your team well! Let’s hope this commission, or let’s continue calling it a team, will be successful! We don’t want to hear excuse after 90days and high sitting allowances bills! We want to have solid recommendations on the table to reform this public service for the good of all Malawian people and not for the puplic servants or the people get involved with government ONLY!
    In a stronger note to you my VP: Despite your great, zealous efforts in this first 8 months of this Tonse government, you have failed, which is now clearly manifested by you boss, giving you this deadline! Let’s hope you takle this challenge to our all advantage!

  27. My Malawi very funny Nation ma allowance ena adyedwe with no tangible results. Where are we heading as a country??? We don’t know what we want

  30. All the best. We seriously want to see results and change for better and life’s of poor improving, better medical and food security just to mention a few.

    1. Influential families (tonse running on 1 family member policy in all sectors), Friendships, Junior Certificate or equivalent (but not limited to) -> Results will be the same, zisowanso starting on Feb 25th.

  33. It’s civil servants and Parliament (MPs and Staff) stealing and abusing our taxes. The allowances MPs get are supposed to meet accommodation and food expenses but you will find that even the MPs living within Lilongwe City are getting paid. The staff also get paid for working within Parliament. Politicians and civil servants have destroyed this country.

  34. Please Bwana konzani, konzani. Dziko lathu ndilomweli basi. Tilibes ziko lina. Tikonzeleni. Chakwera, you are Malawi’s last hope.

  38. The one selecting this team loves Zomba so much and believes that only Chilunga has the answers to our problems. He has no respect for inclusive decision making processes in public matters that affect all Malawians from different walks of life.

  39. why is it that same old people have to be given opportunities always. Using these old tired brains is like filling old wine in new bottle and think that the wine will be new because it is filled in a new bottle.
    however let me give you some hint about the allowance scheme that is done by mostly officers from the auditor general, opc and accountant general. all these offices are funded for their activities yet when they want to work at a government agency or department they will claim allowances from their host as well as from their office. they clam for more days even if the work will last for a few days and at times they will submit a list of claimants even for officers who will not travel. I know of officials from OPc, auditor general and accountant general who will be found on multiple list of claimants.
    another scheme perpetrated by most PS is where they will arrange for tours for ministers and usually whole offices will accompany the minister and they will all claim allowances and fuel refunds.
    Let me suggest that all government vehicles should be put on car track system to control abuse by driver and other officials. If government would put all cars of car truck government will be able to save over 500billion which is wasted in car maintainance , fuel theft and parts exchange.
    government should review salaries of all civil servants and sign a performance based contract with all employee and those who are not willing to work in government should be dismissed. I know of people in the civil service who will always find excuses not to come to work almost every week.

  40. What is the budget (tax payers money) allocated for this assignment? Tell us now. We do not want to hear later that you spent MK8 billion to do this assessment of 3 months.

  41. All the best SKC and team and next step is to act swiftly..Ife tikufuna action!!!action!!!
    Omangidwa azimangidwa,ochotsedwa achotsedwe, opatsidwa ma promotion apatsidwe…

  42. Always what you want is to find ways of stealing money for the poor.
    How many professors here?
    How much are they going to earn per day per meeting?
    Shame!!! I feel sorry for poor malawian tax payers

  43. Don’t shoot yourself on the foot SKC, the root cause of corruption is low wages in government. If you remove allowances without revising the wages you will lose critical staff to propel Tonse Alliance agenda in government. Private sector will gain. However we need proper checks and balances for civil servants. Let’s bring the Private sector culture into this government system. Let’s get rid of dead wood and create room for the youth who are fresh, energetic and ready to make things happen.

  44. The task force is full of academicians. who have never managed an organisation before. It seems civil servants are not very represented in the task force. It is flawed from the word go.

  46. Kodi ankolo, Ndekuti ma reform munapanga for five years aja, sadagwile? Basi Ndekuti tizikulipilani for holding meetings after meetings zaka kumapita, mutu wake wosawoneka? Inu ngodontha ati?

  47. Criminals have formed cartels for their criminal enterprise at state house with chief criminals Kapondamgaga and kalumbu leading the park of criminals. Chakwrera rightly put his people in strategic positions like Zangazanga chikhosi to oversee criminal enterprise cartels on government

  51. Iyiyi nja azinzake ndi akwao kwa uyuyu uyuyu. You can’t reform govt when you’re corrupted yourself. These reforms won’t yield the much expected results if they are narrowed as elitistic

  52. Hopefully there won’t be exorbitant allowances involved since this is a cancerous phenomenon Malawians have been embroiled in inorder to enrich themselves. Such is the end result when you engage in autopilot because leadership is non-existent. Total cleansing of the system is the right way to go, but washing hands by instituting baseless, useless and task forces lacking leadership will bear no fruits.

  55. We regret this political appeasement and the resultant waste of taxpayers money for allowance and benefits to this group of people. Its not secret that those surrounding HE and VP are questionable and therefore are corrupt themselves.

  60. Another Policy formulating team, don’t see any action oriented individual here. Yes, some not all of them are great people. But then all of them are on good at Theories.

    Try to be African for once, (tengani chinachake choziwa za pa Ground chizikakuuzani zomwe zimachitika).

    By the way, who will determine their Sitting Allowances?

    1. Mwala mwala! No one on this list holds a patent, nothing tangible brought to market that we can point at. The only certain thing is we know some of them paid educational institutions to be given certificates (since this is what university is), so most likely ndi fanzi yama theory okha okha. Maybe we will be proved wrong but for now, they will waste our money. DEY GO CHEW DI MONI – nigerian accent

    2. Yes, this group is full of titles that have practical skills in this endeavor and would not deliver….. let’s embrace results oriented approaches in Malawi otherwise we will never develop.

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