By Cedric Nkungula
Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says the Public Sector Systems Report that he ordered and presented to him by Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima is not a document for public entertainment or debates.
In February 2021, President Chakwera ordered Chilima to lead the public sector systems review task force following revelations of abuse of funds meant for Covid – 19 response.
The report was presented to the president on May 21, 2021. Since then, there have been calls by civil society organizations to have the report made public.
Speaking during the launch of the open government partnerships National Action Plan (NAP) for Malawi at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Tuesday, 6th June 2023, the Malawi leader emphasized that the report is a reference document for him as president during engagements with public institutions and public officers that need constant direction on the reforms.
To this end, Chakwera parried reports that the document is gathering dust in his office.
The Malawi leader cited the launching of NAP and several other initiatives as an indication that his administration is implementing the reforms.
“If I had not been pursuing reforms, the ministry of finance and economic affairs would not have made progress in the negotiations for an Extended Credit Facility with the International Monetary Fund, because the center piece of those negotiations are the reforms we have put in place for better fiscal management. If I had not been pursuing Reforms, we would not have secured the 350 million dollar Millennium Challenge Compact, because to qualify for that compact required the implementation of reforms that passed the scorecard our development partners gave us,” said the president.
“If I had not been pursuing reforms, the Presidential Delivery Unit in my office would not have been conducting delivery labs for various sectors to improve public sector performance. In fact, to sustain the momentum of the PDU, I have appointed Dr. Janet Banda, the Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet, as the new Head of PDU, who will be reporting directly to me on its operations and its push for public sector reforms and delivery.”
