First Vice-President Jane Ansah has lifted the lid on growing cracks within President Peter Mutharika’s administration, accusing Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi of sidelining her from Cabinet business.
In a revealing interview with Zodiac Broadcasting Station (ZBS), Ansah said she has stopped receiving invitations to Cabinet meetings despite her constitutional position as First Vice-President.
Ansah said the situation has become so serious that, on one occasion, her Cabinet bag was delivered to her home instead of her attending the meeting.
“No Cabinet bag was sent to me. I called the Chief Secretary, he hasn’t picked my phone,” she said.
The revelations raise serious questions about how government is being run and whether political differences are now affecting the functioning of the Executive.
Ansah said several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials have not been happy with her, adding that she has seen people being encouraged to say and do things they should not.
She maintained that her relationship with Mutharika remains cordial but acknowledged that she has not been involved in Cabinet meetings as expected.
The former Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson also linked the deterioration in relations to her controversial United Kingdom trip last December.
She said she wrote three letters to Saidi explaining what had happened but received no response.
Ansah said she would rather resolve the matter internally than rush to President Mutharika.
“I am not a cry baby; I like to deal with things as they come,” she said.
But governance pundit George Chaima has challenged Ansah to go further and name those allegedly responsible for sidelining her.
He argued that Ansah is constitutionally expected to be part of Cabinet and should attend its meetings.
