Social commentators have called for an end to the familiarization tours by cabinet ministers and their deputies, describing them as time and resource wasters.
Since President Mutharika appointed the full cabinet in October last year, ministers and their deputies have been on the road in the name of familiarizing themselves with developments. Some ministers, depending on the recent reshuffles, are on the second or third round of these tours.
Centre for Social Accountability & Transparency (CSAT) executive director Willy Kambwandira said national crisscrossing by cabinet ministers and their deputies is in contrast to the government’s own austerity rhetoric.
“These tours are being conducted without clear evidence of outcomes, the ground visits do not show fiscal discipline, and if anything, they look more like politically convenient visibility.
“In a country under severe budget stress, Cabinet Ministers moving with convoys claiming allowances, fuel and logistics for routine familiarization tours sends a worrying signal to a poor Malawian who is being told to tighten belts. Austerity demands restraint, prioritization and results not frequent travels for visibility.
“The current ground Ministerial visits are inherently wasteful and financially draining as they have been reduced to photo-ops with clear objectives, measurable outcomes and follow up actions.
“Ministers do not need to be everywhere physically to govern effectively, empowered technocrats can deliver the same. Ground visits should be targeted, justified and rarely reserved for crises or verification of critical projects not routine visibility. A poor Malawian does not benefit from a photo opportunity or speeches,” said Kambwandira.
The Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) Chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba said there is no need for ministers to be always on the road to monitor projects.
“Some of these tours are over-exaggerated. We can’t be talking about familiarization tours three months after these ministers were sworn in. One or two tours are understandable, the rest is for the principal secretaries to do a desk report. Apart from that, about 90 percent of the current members of the cabinet have been ministers before, you wonder if there is need for the same people to be conducting such tours,” he said.
However, Director of Communications in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) Focus Maganga defended the move, saying that, being a new administration, the ministers as policy holders, need to understand the system better.
“Government is just settling in, these ministers need to understand the system. Apart from that, you will observe that these ministers have not over-travelled, and mostly, they are doing so within the country, save for the Finance Minister who has been attending crucial and important meetings abroad. Above all, our ministers have not over-travelled compared to the first six months of the previous administration,” he said.
