Mutharika to announce new bloated cabinet: ‘Malawi economy sound to sustain 30 ministers’
New ministers are expected to be announced as President Peter Mutharika freshens his Cabinet – a break away from lean team – in an attempt to convince voters that his administrations has the energy, ideas and talent for government.
Mutharika dissolved Cabinet last week a move political analysts believe is to incorporate Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) partner United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Cabinet ahead of the forthcoming presidential election.
The President has maintained a 20-member Cabinet ever since his campaign pledge in 2014 though he did not campaign on cabinet size in the second term.
It is a campaign pledge he has fulfilled 100% throughout his first five-year first term, even the nine months of his second five-year term even now when the economy has recovered: inflation is at the lowest in decades, bank lending rates have come down by more than 50%, infrastructure development is underway across the country, and public reform to enable economic growth.
Some observers say the economy is a lot better than then and can sustain a 30-member Cabinet.
Mutharika has now assembled a new Cabinet, according to sources at the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC).
Presidential spokesperson Mgeme Kalilani said the President will announce a new Cabinet soon.
With the battleground of fresh presidential elections in his rear view mirror Mutharika needs a different type of top team as political commentators have advised to remove “riff ruffs” in the new Cabinet.
Political commentator Humphreys Mvula says Mutharika should have a brutal clear out of the ‘riff ruffs’ that were giving the President a bad name and replace them with the people that can endear the President to the people.
“This is the time to remove individuals that make him and DPP look toxic and an opportunity to rebrand. It has dawned on him that the elections are now certain following the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.
Other analysts also say what Mutharika needs now is a delivery cabinet to turn his election promises into tangible policy.
“He needs to make a campaign cabinet,” said Henry Chingaipe, a political analyst with local thinktank the Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment.
The Constitutional Court last month ordered officials to hold fresh presidential elections within 150 days, but the bills for doing so require Mutharika’s assent, which on Tuesday he refused to ratify.
The proposed amendments requested a more than 50 percent majority to secure a second term — a major sticking point for Mutharika, who was declared winner with just 35.8 percent of the vote.
Without his approval, the draft laws will be returned to the National Assembly.
President Mutharika has filed an appeal against the court’s annulment of the results and refused to fire members of Malawi Electoral Commission, as recommended by parliament.
Malawi’s Supreme Court is expected to rule on Mutharika’s appeal in April.
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As Malawians, we need to Pray hard that God help us from poverty and hunger. Tisamaputsitsidwe ndi ma politicians. Onsewa Mbava zokha zokha. Once in power, they forget all the promises they made to us and start bribery. Makhuluku. Don’t trust them.
Joloza ndiwe wabodza. Joyce Banda ndi Chilima anali chipani chiti? DPP chipani cha afiti ndi a nalikukuti!
UDF must trade carefully on the issue of alliance with DPP. DPP is very crooked. UDF must never make a mistake of rejecting 50%+1 electoral bill when it is presented again in Parliament. Without this 50%+1 provision, it is easy for DPP to dump UDF once they retain power. Trust these crooks at your own peril! Don’t say we did not tell you.
Again UDF should never think that they can wrestle power from DPP as Bingu did in 2005. This can never happen. These guys know what they are doing. They are playing a game of “Ndiwolotse ndikakutafune”. Finish!
Chipani chang’ona ndichimene chimapanga ndiolotse ndikakutafuna chifukwa ndichikhalidwe chake chotafunatafunachi. A Chilima ayembekezere kutafunidwa.
Politics at its best
I wish poloticians and people forget about this bullshit politics and concentrate on the corona pandemic
We are all concentrating on coronaviruses that are mutating fast in Malawi called Nyethwe in local language. They need to be eradicated fast.
Whether bloated cabinet or not, APM will deliver. You people are jealousy because we are eating money. It is our time so just wait for your time as well. Ena akamasangalala ena amalira. Life ndi choncho.
Dead stupid stinking dog
Zako zikutha izo
May by then the word was not well defined in Law dictionary. The Concourt precisely defined it from a Law dictionary so things change with time.
Osayamika ngosayamika basis ngakhale. Ungamukonze bwanji,ndangokuthokozani a nyasatimes povomeleza kuti chuma cha Malawi tsopano chilibwino zomwe zikutitsimikizila kuti enawa akungodana ndi APM kaamba ka nsanjechabe
Hiiih awanso Chuma cha Malawi chilibwino you mean kusowa kwa kwacha kapena kwa mankhwala muzipatala? Maybe you mean kupita kwa achinyamaya ku South Africa akamatumizako Tina Rand ku Malawi ukuona Ngati ndi ambuyalowo aaaaah zazi Mene yavitila kwacha pa Malawi Peter atazitsamira Ngati Bingu pansi pa bed anthu akufa mzipatala no proper medication hunger no money to buy food tchupiti zako
The issue is not about APM having 20 or 30 cabinet members, the problem is he always appoints DPP clowns 🤡
Desperate times requires desperate measures. I hope he won’t leave the young Muluzi with bloody hands. He has a whole future before him. The beauty of democracy is that no matter what tricks you may have to steal remain in power, you never last. I can see someone going six feet under.
Does anyone care about a new cabinet???
Otayo if u are not a lawyer just keep mute and go to sleep. U will never understand this until ur death probably. Kikikik.
The issue of amending of electoral laws will delay us to move foward let us wait for ruling on appeal which will automatically go against government wishes .Then allow the same make to administer elections and we as opposition will safeguard our votes and finally boot out this crueless government.otherwise za ma electrol reforms izi zitichedwetsa
President mutharika is a part time polician but our misguided opposition has now forced him to a deal political hand. In the end the few gains achieved under his leadership will be lost. The bigger the cabinet the bigger the amount stolen and the more cronyism. All this is chilima and chakwera fault for pushing mutharika into a corner
There are suggestions that Malawi Constitution was already embedded with 50 plus 1 rule. I will be very eager if anyone in these arguments can refer me to the section of Malawi Constitution where the words 50 plus 1 have been explicitly stated in black and white. Please refer me to that section with the words 50 plus 1.
The suggestion of amending Electoral Act to conform with the constitution is misleading. How can an amendment of Electoral Act conform with something which does not exist in the constitution itself!. There wasn’t and there is no 50 plus 1 rule in Malawi constitution. The only word which is confusing Malawians is the word MAJORITY.
The word MAJORITY was already interpreted by the highest court in Malawi in 1999. The supreme court in the cause of Chakuamba and Kamulepo Kalua v Attorney General, both appellants challenged Bakili Muluzi with a similar argument as we are having today. They wanted the Supreme Court to annul his victory.
The supreme court categorically rejected their argument and highlighted that MAJORITY does not mean 50 plus 1. The supreme court interpreted that MAJORITY means First Past The Post System.
The Supreme Court ruling forms the Authority where all courts below it have to follow.
If today the Supreme Court wants to concur with rulings from the lower court which has overturned The Supreme Court’s own Authority in Chakuamba case, that is not for me to answer .
In Malawi the Ruling of the Highest court becomes Law and it abides all courts below it including the Constitutional Court
I have discovered that our judges are mediocre and myopic. The problem with Malawi is that we lack critical thinking. The issue of 50+1 should not have arisen at all considering that the Supreme Court already ruled on this in 1999. But because ConCourt judges were bribed to serve Chilima and Chakwera’s interests, they opined on this issue which was never petitioned by the petitioners who ONLY went to court to have presidential results annulled. The courts (Supreme Court included) are in trouble here. It would be foolish for the Supreme court to agree with ConCourt on 50+1, because that would be mean it will be contradicting itself.
I think you know nothing, you better shutup
Our Judges are mediocre and myopic?? Do you even hear yourself? you commoner with an MSCE think you know better than 5 Judges? Lmao koma guys
Bola MSCE but with JCE ya open schools
What are you afraid of?
My Friend Section 80 (2) says that the president of the republic shall be elected by a majority of the electorate of universal suffrage. To you what does the word ‘majority of the electorate’ mean?
Zinazi alekeleni ma lawyer, after all the bills were not meant to amend the constitution but rather put a framework in the Electoral Act to carter for a situation where one does not have that majority of votes of electors
What did ‘majority’ mean to the Supreme Court in 1999 when the court gave its interpretation? What did ‘majority mean in the elections in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014. It is ignorant people like you who are so gullible you actually do not think. JOJO is right. Our judges are incompetent and myopic. Even a primary school pupil can see that their thinking is very shallow.
What does section 80 (2) say. A majority vote count by any dictionary means 50+1. You can google. What parliament was doing was just to lay procedures incase there is no one who gets 50+ 1. Not putting in 50+1 ….follow the law
This just shows how people like you have swallowed the garbage from our rotten courts.
i agree with
majority votes means 50+1 votes of the total valid votes
i have done the google search
Why didn’t you go and represent MEC and Mutharika and argue the case if you knew everything regarding constitutional law. Kumango bwebweta basi.
And it was laughable hearing the MEC chair proudly saying that the Supreme Court already ruled that ‘majority’ in Section 80(2) of our constitution means ‘simple majority’ thus, the system we have been using throughout. The simple fact is that ‘majority’ and ‘simple majority’ are not the same. Whosoever made the 1999 ruling misled the nation.
iwe ndi galu kwabasi. the constitution talks about majority. it says the president shall be elected with majority of people who vote. what does majority to you mean? you can have everything explained in the constitution or else the it will be voluminous. thats why courts come in to interpret. Consult your dictionary on the word majority and come back to us. Pumbwa iwe!
I gat the power. And the prerogative.