Mutharika appoints Mkondiwa new Chief Secretary, acting time up for Samute
President Peter Mutharika has appointed Principal Secretary in the ministry fo Foreign Affairs, George Mkondiwa as Chief Secretary to the Government.
A statement from the Office of the President and Cabinet issued on Wednesday 27, 2014 said the appointment is with immediate effect.
“The President of the Republic of Malawi, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 89 (1) (d) and 92 (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi has appointed Mr. George Mkondiwa as Chief Secretary to government,” reads the statement.
Mkondiwa replaces Acting Secretary Chief Secretary to the Government, Willie Samute.
Samute has been acting on the position for one month since the firing of Hawa Ndilowe who is currently Malawi High Commissioner to Tanzania.
Willie Samute is also the one who signed the controversial memo containing proposals to hike cabinet ministers’ pay to almost triple his own salary amid austerity measures following foreign aid flight.
The cabinet secretary asked for a six-fold increase of the 20 ministers’ salaries to $8,800 a month to cover the higher cost of living, according to presidential spokesman Frederick Ndala.
But Mutharika “finds it unethical to raise ministers’ salaries when the cost of living is not only high for them, but for every Malawian,” Ndala said.
Mutharika, who came to power after beating Joyce Banda in May elections, will prioritise “the improvement of living standards of civil servants,” his spokesman said.
