The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) hereby responds thus to President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera’s brief remarks prior to the swearing-in ceremony of Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Cabinet Ministers today, Friday, 10th July 2020:

1. The president has deliberately ignored the concerns from some sectors of society on the composition of the cabinet on the pretext that the appointment of the Cabinet Ministers and the Deputy Cabinet Ministers was done on merit. If the issue was about merit, then as CDEDI, we seriously doubt that the families that we believe have been handsomely rewarded with ministerial positions are the only ones in Malawi which are capable of delivering;

2. We are disappointed with the president’s response on the exclusion of the ministry of gender from cabinet. Making reference to the non-performance of the previous regime on gender issues should not have been used as a yardstick not to consider including the ministry of gender in the current cabinet. The president should’ve at least made mention of a ministry under which gender issues are embedded;

3. By giving the current crop of Cabinet Ministers and their deputies a timeframe to deliver, we can confidently construe that the president has conceded that he has goofed and that he is playing some delaying tactics in order to make up for his mistake;

4. We thank all the concerned Malawians who have raised, and continue to raise their voices for a better Malawi;

5. CDEDI is still monitoring the situation, and we will continue to play the role of a watchdog as we have always done