By Cedric Nkungula
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says his administration will soon announce a Civil Servants Appreciation Day that is aimed at giving Malawians a chance to appreciate civil servants around them who work tirelessly to make their lives better.
Breaking the news at the official launch of the first of it’s kind civil servants medical scheme at Capital Hill in Lilongwe on Tuesday 5th December 2023, Chakwera if the civil servants are appreciated, they will find it a joy to serve.
“I know that there is no government in the world in which public servants are given everything they want or everything they deserve. I know that to be a public servant is a sacrifice and a service to one’s country which often entails accepting that yours is a thankless job. And I know that in our context especially, we are observing austerity measures that restricts our ability to spend money willy – nilly across the service,” said the president.
“However, that does not mean that we should not make an effort to make things better for our civil servants where it is in our power to do so, nor does it mean that we cannot show our civil servants appreciation in other ways that do not have expenditure implications.”
On the newly introduced medical scheme, the Malawi leader explained that one of the challenges that must be addressed to attract top tier talent into the reconstructed civil service that will be rolled out in the future is the conditions of service and medical insurance cover is a critical aspect of that.
Through the insurance cover, says Chakwera, we have created a sense that the wellbeing of our civil servants matters and not just their work.
“Through this scheme, we have ensured that there is equity in access to healthcare in the public sector not favouritism,” he added.
“Through this scheme, we are investing public resources in something that yields long term dividends in productivity not wasting them on consumption.”
Speaking earlier, Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Collen Zamba hailed Chakwera government for introducing the medical cover which she said is aimed at ensuring that all civil servants work under improved working conditions.
“So far, 26,000 civil servants have already joined the medical scheme and continue to join everyday,” she said.
A beneficiary of the program, Mrs Ruth Nkhambule Eliya who works as a Secondary School Teacher at Kabwabwa CDSS asked government to consider extending the program to also cover civil servants spouses and dependants.
“Let me take this opportunity to urge fellow civil servants to take advantage of the medical scheme for their good health. From now, we will be discharging our duties without worrying about health care expenses,” she said.
