Maintaining Chiumia in the Cabinet is wrong – Analysts
President Peter Mutharika has been faulted for retaining of Grace Chiumia in his new Cabinet, with governance commentators arguing it is a disregard to the rule of law after Director of Assets Declaration Christopher Tukula wrote the President to fire her for failure to declare assets.
Chiumia, who is now Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development, and five other MPs contravened Section 14 (3) of the Declaration of Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests Act of 2013. The other MPs who refused to declare their assets are George Chaponda, Willard Gwengwe, Denis Kadzinja, Christopher Mzomera Ngwira and Henry Shaba.
The six did not provide an explanation to the office for their failure to declare assets during the 2016/17 financial year.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) vice-chairperson Gift Trapence, expressed worry on the appointment, saying it needs to be reversed.
“The assets declaration law is very clear in its provision that non-declaration is clear abrogation of the same laws. Our position is that the President is violating this law. He should rescind it forthwith, failing which we will make the minister and the President accountable. We will not tolerate this as citizens of this country,” said Trapence in quotes reported by Weekend Nation newspaper.
Commenting in the same aper, politician-cum-social commentator Humphrey Mvula said maintaining Chiumia in the Cabinet is an indication that some people live above the law as they are rewarded even when they contradict the law.
“What this implies is that there is a promotion of impunity because it shows that somebody can do wrong and still be rewarded with a Cabinet post or maintained,” he said.
Another governance commentator Rafiq Hajat, said maintaining Chiumia in Cabinet is a total disregard for the rule of law and as such, “it constitutes a continuation of the culture of impunity within the political hierarchy.”
Chiumia, who is Nkhata Bay West member of Parliament (MP), is one of the trusted ministers.
Psyuta ndiwe kanyimbi weniweni, chule wachabechabe. Iweyo sudzamwalira koma udzangofa movutika ngati galu wachiwewe. Wakumba dzenje kuti mnzako agweremo, koma ugweramo wekha ndi gogo wakoyo!
We will squeeze them like sponge when they will be out of office to avoid repeat of the same mistakes.
Who has the capacity to remove them out of the office?
MALAWIANS
Stop targeting an innocent woman. She had nothing to declare. After all the Speaker said he had not received the information. Why should the Director of Asset Declaration putthings to public before Speaker . Who has the final decision on this. If she had nothing do declare, she had nothing. What were you going to declare Trapence, or Mvula. Hope Mvula was going to declare Field York earnings.
Mbuzi iwe
Poor APM, completely lost it. Vuto lozunza ana a Bingu, komanso Mkazi wake ndi limeneli. Mwadzipatsa minyama, one blunder after the other.
Gift Tripancy adzamwalira modzunzika kwambili. Too much hatred.
wasambako pano grace chiumia ziphiphu zonse khala ngati zalowako nkati…..eish wamuseka m’maso pitala mpakana wamuikanso mu cabinet demet
She is from the north and this time DPP does not want to disappoint people from the north especially Nkhatabay by firing one of their own. Akanakhala wapakati or kumwela atamuchosa just like Kachikho, but northerners are treated with kid groves.
She has brains though
But why Chiumia? I know you as a good mannered person. Kuba will take you nowhere sister.