A consortium of 14 civil society organizations has given president Lazarus Chakwera 7 days to authenticate the leaked public and civil service reforms report or risk facing unspecified actions.
Through a statement released today, the CSO’s have among others described President Chakwera’s refusal to make the report public as an act that undermines democratic values of transparency and accountability.
“Despite receiving the report in May 2021, President Chakwera’s refusal to make it public disregards calls from various sectors, including civil society, undermining democratic values of transparency and accountability,” reads part of the statement.
In an interview with MIJ Online, Moses Mkandawire who spoke on behalf of the CSO’s questioned Chakwera’s sincerity in implementing the various reforms as contained in the report due to the absence of a transparent implementation strategy.
“The absence of a transparent implementation strategy and secrecy surrounding the report plus lack of robust reporting mechanisms, impedes progress tracking and accountability in public service reforms thus raising doubts about the sincerity of these efforts, potentially repeating past inefficiencies,” observed Mkandawire.
Thus far, the CSO’s have proposed the strengthening of the current weak accountability framework that promotes impunity and non-compliance with stronger mechanisms and regulations including penalties for misconduct and corruption, to uphold integrity and performance standards within the public service.
On 19th February, 2021, President Chakwera appointed the “Public Service Systems Review Taskforce” which was chaired by Vice President Saulos Chilima.
The Taskforce which was among others entrusted with the comprehensive review of three pivotal government systems of allowances, procurement, and employment contracts, presented a report on its findings to President Chakwera who refused to release the same to the public on grounds that it was meant for his eyes only.
