Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development and Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) have called on President Peter Mutharika to quickly appoint new Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development.
When he fired George Chaponda from cabinet on February 22 this year, Mutharika said all matters requiring the attention of the Minister of Agriculture should be referred to him.
At Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Friday, Mutharika signed Public Service Reforms Programme organisational performance agreements on behalf of Agriculture Ministry signifying his commitment to be answerable for the ministry’s performance.
During a recent mid-year budget review, different cabinet ministers took turns to respond to questions going to the Agriculture Ministry.
Chairperson for Parliamentary Agriculture Committee, Joseph Chidanti- Malunga, said although the President is not breaking any law by not appointing new minister, Mutharika needs to understand that the ministry in question is a very busy one and needs somebody to actively provide leadership.
Chidanti-Malunga said there are some important activities within the ministry
that seriously need the presence of a full-time minister.
“For example, if there is an outbreak of ntchembelezandonda [armyworms] in Kasungu, there are times we may need the minister to be there to appreciate the damage for quick solutions and I don’t think the whole President can be there for all that. I think he [Mutharika] has overstayed on that position and it is time he appointed another person to fill that position,” Chidanti- Malunga said.
CCJP National Secretary, Martin Chiphwanya, said Mutharika already possesses huge mandate by virtue of being a country leader and needs other people to be responsible for some sectors as crucial as agriculture.
“He may not be at the Capital Hill to oversee the daily activities in the ministry. It will even be difficult for the President to go to several areas to see what is happening within the ministry,” Chiphwanya said.
He said people can only speculate on the reasons behind the President’s delay to exercise his appointing mandate and he thinks the issue of suspicious procurement of maize from Zambia, which led to the firing of Chaponda, shocked the establishment.
A minor cabinet reshuffle in December last year saw an immediate firing of Malison Ndau and hiring of Nicholas Dausi as Minister of Information and Communications Technology.
“May be honourable Chaponda being somebody who is very big in the [Democratic Progressive] party, they are also trying to fill the position with somebody who also has the influence of honourable Chaponda’s calibre. May be they didn’t expect it,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development is one of the key ministries in government and agriculture, being the mainstay of the country’s economy, makes the ministry prominent in the country.
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