Chilima says will make more foreign trips: State House says VP must notify President

November 12, 2018 Wongani Chiuta -Nyasa Times 31 Comments

Vice President Saulos Chilima has said he will continue to make foreign trips but State House has said he should notify the President about his travel as required by government protocol.

Chilima: I will be travelling abroad again

Chilima has travelled last month to United Kingdom, Nigeria and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking at UTM party rally in Salima on Sunday, Chilima said he will travelling abroad again soon to engage international community on how they would help Malawi on his transformational agenda.

But State House said Chilima, who ditched the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in June and declared he would challenge President Peter Mutharika in the May 21 2019 presidential race, should seek leave from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

Presidential spokesman Mgeme Kalilani said protocol demand that the Vice-President, Cabinet ministers and their deputies, informs OPC where they intend to go, purpose f the visit, duration and who is responsible for costs.

Principal Secretary in the Office of the Vice –president, Charles Msosa, said Chilima trips were “private” and he has not spent public funds on them.

And Malawi Law Society honourary secretary Martha Kaukonde said there is no law obligating the Vice-President t inform the President when travelling abroad.

But she said both the VP and the President should inform each other as “good practice.”

Since he ditched DPP, the President has stripped Chilima of ministerial and other functions assigned to his office.

Recently, Mutharika’s exclusion of the Vice-President from the Cabinet list has stirred debate with legal scholars and Malawi Law Society (MLS) accusing the President of flouting the Constitution he swore to defend and protect.

Edge Kanyongolo, an associate professor of law at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, argued in the press that the Cabinet list excluding the VP is legally inconsequential because it does not have any legal significance.

He said: “A list is just a list! This does not in any way affect the Vice-President’s position because the VP is not appointed into Cabinet; he is there already by virtue of the law.”

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) vice-chairperson Gift Trapence said it is common knowledge that the Presidency includes the President and the Vice-President.

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31 replies on “Chilima says will make more foreign trips: State House says VP must notify President”

  1. I thought he is not on the cabinet list?? so why should he be furnishing information about his travels to anyone DPP you are two faced……… ndinudi mafana, mwachepa kwambiri

  2. He is not on the cabinet list, He does not need to ask permission from anyone! you sidelined him now all of a sudden you are all up into business.

  3. This “someone” is moving on with his life, now suddenly DPP is interested in him, his movements, his whereabouts, what he is doing ??? what the Heck???.

  5. This is laughable. You sidelined him. Made a joke on voters. Disrespected Malawians by not following protocol on cabinet list. You have insulted Malawians by deliberately omitting VP name and boasted about it. The President and VP have not spoken since June. No job delegation to vp but chose to delegate jobs to GG and KN on recent trips. So why should skc follow protocol.

    I guess Chilima is following the same steps. This is the protocol you have set so thats what he is exactly doing.

    Gone are days of dictatorship. We fought for democracy while you were away. Respect Malawi please and its Laws.

  7. It’s unfortunate the VP could neither wait until end of mandate next year to leave DPP nor can he resign from the government to pursue opposition politics. His way of doing things appears to violate the spirit of the current constitution. Had the framers of our constitution been ok with an opposition VP we would have been electing the one with the next highest votes as vice president e.g. in our case Chakwera would have been vice president. They do it that way in some countries. The US also used to do it that way before they changed. For better or for worse, our current system wherever it has been adopted, is designed to ensure that the VP will have a good working relationship with the president since he/she is hand picked by the main candidate and also that should the president not be able to to continue, there will be no change of government without elections.

    1. The constitution needs to change this immediately! Its the second time it has happened and it is laughable!. The two VPs have exploited the system to the disadvantage of Malawians.

    2. The constitution was deliberately framed to provide checks and balances. The presidency is an office and not a person or a party and it belongs to all Malawians and not just DPP. Go back to the document, find out who the framers were and you will appreciate this fact.

      1. Nonsense. The aim is to provide continuity and avoid a costly presidential election as much as possible. If you want checks and balances then the one with second highest votes from a different party becomes vice president. And mind you we vote for individuals not some abstract blank office. Malawi did not invent the running mate concept. Where the system works well eg US, Kenya we do not hear of vice presidents changing parties while in office.

        1. Exactly, continuity of the office not an individual or party. Go back to school. Do you know why JB ascended to the presidency when Bingu died (MHSRIP)? Because it is an office which is protected by the constitution. JB was sidelined by DPP but because the position is protected by the constitution, there was nothing DPP could have done. That office belongs to all Malawians not just party followers.

  9. I thought state house said its not necessary for this ‘someone’ to be included on cabinet list. Pano mukufuna adzikuwuzani akafuna kuyenda? Its not necessary.

  10. Ngeme Kalilani does your APM follow the same protocol,does he delegate his duties to chilima when going out of the country;by excluding chilima in his cabinet has your president followed the protocol.Shame on you it seems you dont know what you are doing.

  12. We dobt have a pararrel government Mr.Chilima.Yours is a delegated office yiu cant speak on behalf of the President without his authority…Muzakagea kumeneko muzafuna boma…Kuzimva

    1. He is not going there to speak on behalf of Maliseche. He is going there in his personal capacity as president in waiting. Get over it.

    2. There is no time he will be private because he is public officer until 2019wooo! Za simple izi kumvetsa a Moze

  13. Chilima azitsazika , i thought he is not part of the cabinet and he is not recognised. APM akamachoka amalondola protocol ? Does APM delegate duties to SKC as VP? Mwaziyamba nokha zikukukhamani. Leave SKC alone. He is free to do what he wants as he is not part of you guys.

    Mukumumva kuwawatu Chilima.

    Zoziputa dala.

    Ayambe APM kutsanzika thrn SKC will follow.

  14. These trips cost us money. We pay taxes to feed these useless politicians and they must be wise when spending our money. We want drugs in hospitals. We want good schools and not private schools. We want good roads not the roads that are killing people everyday. Nthawi ta MCP we all went to public schools including Chilima himself but today we are being punished for Muluzi mistakes. Chilima wants to follow the same path yowononga. Bus depot ya Lilongwe is the same since the 70s. Same toilet. Police houses in falls need renovations koma agaluwa kuwinonga.

  15. I like his confidence. It’s just unfortunate that Prof Peter as gentle as he is cannot see salvation in this young lad. Uyu nde mlowa mmalo wabwino

  16. Both the VP and the president must inform each other, kkkkkk I love that. I hope Mgeme is seeing this. I also hope this is not a sign of wanting to restrict the VP’s movement. Chifukwatu tikueona. Zayambira patali. Mgeme is informing us that protocol requires that the VP informs OPC about his travels etc, which protocol, Mr. Maliseche just showed Malawians that there is nothing called protocol in Malawi by not including the VP on his cabinet list. Anthuwa akumwa madzi bwinobwino ku State House ndi Chilimayu. Akakhala a Chakwera ndi MCP, ah completely obscured.

    1. A PSYUTA MUSIYENI MUNTHU CHINGAMUOMBE NDICHIYA NDINU MULUNGU MUMADZIWA ZA KUTSOGOLO OSAMATELO AYI KOLEMBETSA CHIPANI MWALIMBANAYE CHAUTA WAKANA MWALEPHELA APA MUKUTI BWANJI TIYENI TIDIKILE MAY 19 BASI TIDZAONE KUTI ADZAKHALE DOLO NDANI

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