Malawi government lists Callista as VP

Malawi's official government website has listed First Lady Callista Mutharika as the country's vice president after President Bingu wa Mutharika named her second-in-command in new cabinet line-up.

In the cabinet list, Mutharika acknowledged the First Lady as National Coordinator of Maternal, Infant and Child Health and HIV/Nutrition/Malaria and Tuberculosis.

But on Malawi governmet  website seen by Nyasa Times on Saturday, the First Lady was listed as Vice President, a constitutional position which is held through an election. The current vice president is Joyce Banda, omitted in the cabinet list.

The list on the website can be found by clicking 'cabinet' on the titles after Home , second from left on top of the page. The page will direct one to "select ministry" and then click select “Office of the President and Cabinet” then hit “Search” button.

Presidential spokesman Hetherwick Ntaba confirmed that the First Lady is a second-in-command, but cautiously said it was  merely "protocol."

Ntaba further pointed out that Banda constitutionally remains Malawi's vice president but  "functionally and in any other way she is not the country's vice president,"

Malawi Law Society president John Mwakhwawa  accused President Mutharika of "trying to fire the VP (Joyce Banda) through the back door."

The leader of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), John Tembo,  said President Mutharika "still needs to justify why his wife" is listed in the cabinet.

But a law expert at the University of Malawi, Edge Kanyongolo,  argued that the First Lady  is not a member of a cabinet because she has not been appointed minister.

"You cannot be a member of a cabinet unless you are appointed to a specific cabinet post," said Kanyongolo.

"She (Callista) would have to be appointed a minister before she is a member of cabinet," he pointed out.

The civil society, meanwhile, are pressing government to rescind its decision to pay the First Lady a monthly sum of over $7,000 for doing charity work as a coordinator of safe motherhood.

"The First Lady’s contract should be nullified forthwith and all earnings refunded back to Government,” demands the civil society leaders.

The concept of a National Coordinator for safe Motherhood in Malawi was drawn from that of the national Goodwill Ambassador for Safe Motherhood initiated by the Africa Union Conference of Ministers of Health in 2005.

The first office bearer in Malawi was Banda, the Vice president, before President Mutharika assigned his wife to take up the responsibility instead.

The President also directed that the First Lady should be addressed as “Her Excellency.”

Nyasa Times 11 Sep, 2011

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Source: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/malawi-government-lists-callista-as-vp/
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