Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera on yesterday sacked his entire cabinet over graft concerns, vowing to “confront all forms of lawless conduct by public officials”, reports Eyewitness News
“I have dissolved my entire cabinet effective immediately, and all the functions of cabinet revert to my office until I announce a reconfigured cabinet in two days,” Chakwera said in a national address.
He added that the reconfigured cabinet will exclude Minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa, who was arrested last month in a bribery case.
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“This is to allow him to answer the corruption charges he is facing in court and clear his name there,” Chakwera said.
The stunning decision follows meetings last week with two influential groups, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and the Public Affairs Committee, which comprises church groups that act as a government watchdog.
Both groups expressed concern over the president’s indecisiveness in fighting corruption.
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ECM, an assembly of Malawi’s Catholic bishops, said authorities must ensure that no one is “pressurised, intimidated or influenced” in the pursuit for justice.
“Let no suspect, however powerful, wealthy or who their connections are, be shielded or protected,” the bishops said in a statement.
Chakwera, who previously led the Malawi Assemblies of God, won the 2020 elections by campaigning on promises to fight corruption.
The land minister’s arrest was the second corruption scandal to erupt in less than a month.
Earlier in December, a corruption probe saw Malawi’s former finance minister and an ex-central bank governor arrested on allegations they manipulated accounts to obtain loans from the International Monetary Fund.
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It is so encouraging to hear of a national leader who actually takes action against Corruption. We hear so much anti-corruption Talk, but so little anti-corruption Action. I invite you to Google my book “CORRUPTION – THE INSIDE STORY” (Mbokodo Publishers 2021) fo discover practical ways to downsize GREED, the ‘inside” cause of Corruption.