On new cabinet

Bingu's cabinet seems well thought out. There does not seem to be any really egregious misallocation of a Ministerial post. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the new cabinet is the replacement of Goodall Gondwe by Ken Kadondo. An American saying goes "if it works don't fix it". It all seemed the Malawi economic management team was doing a good job. The Malawi economy has performed remarkably well in the last four years, enjoying high growth rates under reasonably stable macroeconomic conditions. Driven by agriculture its growth path has has significant on poverty, albeit without relaxing the grip it has only the lives of millions of Malawians. So you have thought Bingu woud keep the team. But then politics is politics.

There are some important lessons to be drawn in the four year experience. The first of these was the importance of the committment by the head of state to economic development and stability. Government ought to pursue its developmentalist mission while ensuring fiscal feasibility of the strategy. Notions of fiscal prudence, efficiency etc need not be harnessed to a deflationary development agenda such as as those propounded by the IMF/World bank teams.

The second lesson is the importance of coherence within government. Here the combination of a developmentalist President and a quite disciplinarian Minister of Finance has been crucial. The President has suggested the bold developmentalist project - fertiliser subsidies, major infrastructural projects etc - but has also respected the fiscal constrains the economy faces. No project has been launched without ensuring that the funds were available. The Minister of Finance has, in turn, understood that his duty is not simply to restrain the developmentalists impulses of the President (as many new Finance Ministers are wont) but to facilitate the achievements of those goals. One strong point about Goodall was his tactful insistence on financial stability while being able to understand the import of the vision of the President. The tough job for Ken will be how to play that role of facilitating the developmental vision and while remaining a prudent and trustworthy guardian of the national purpose. Ken's task may be facilitated by the fact the President himself understands the value of fiscal prudence. The worst he can do is to encourage profligacy by ingratiang the President’s whim and thereby failing to remind the President of the fiscal constraint within which policy is being made.

It aso seems that Bingu has outmanouvred the independents. By waiting so long before announcning his cabinet, he set aside enough time to make the independents aspiring for a ministerial position to declare their adhesion to the party. Some of the independents will feel taken for a ride. This, by the way, may good for the country. Independents, even those who have announced their loyalty to the party, can now play their independent role without having to worry about ministerial posts.