Why is Msaka in hot soup now?

Why is Msaka finally involved in criminal charges of treason? The truth is that  Msaka is not alone, it is just a matter of time for many more senior civil servants who behave like him should also be arrested.  The fact is that the typical Malawi Government senior civil servant is ill prepared to make decisions in a democratic government. The problem is that most of the senior officials in government are not properly trained in the purpose and fundamental principles for which government was established. It is a fact that almost all the civil servants did not go to University to study public sector management. As we know some of them went to University to study law, other Humanities and Social Sciences. However, they ended up finding jobs in the civil service because of nepotism or simply because they could not find jobs of their choice in the private sector.

The question is on Bright Msaka ; did he receive  prior training for work in government? Not at all. All of us know that Msaka became a civil servant through nepotism. After Msaka had graduated from a Law school at Chancellor College, he  found a job as a student lawyer at a law firm owned by an Indian in Limbe. Before the expiry of two years, Bakili Muluzi his home mate was elected President of the Republic of Malawi. It was Muluzi who appointed Msaka into the Mwanza Murders Inquiry as one of the Commissioners. This was how Msaka as an inexperienced lawyer joined government. After presentation of the Mwanza Murders Inquiry Report, Bakili Muluzi  decided to reward his home boy with a diplomatic appointment by deploying Msaka to become High Commissioner of Malawi to Canada. Unfortunately, without adequate experience, Msaka failed to deliver as expected of a High Commissioner in Canada on the pretext of language.  After serving for less than three years, Muluzi transferred Msaka to London where English is the official language.

The truth was that the problem with Msaka was not language but lack of experience from either the private or public sectors which helps in the performance of such jobs. Diplomacy is a strategic subject and those to be appointed require to strategic experience either from the private or public sectors. These are the conveyors required for them to perform in their jobs.  Therefore, it was  suicidal for a person with less than five years past working experience to be deployed as High Commissioner. This was why he also failed to perform in London. Msaka only ended up helping Muluzi to find a house in London and also helped in buying trucks for Muluzi to start Chikala Hills Transport. He never arranged an official visit for Bakili Muluzi to Buckingham Palace in London surprisingly he was rewarded with the promotion to become the most senior government official in Malawi; a scheme that was aimed at personalizing the civil service.; a trick later discovered by Bingu wa Mutharika. But Msaka was not affected as Bingu attached his nephew-a soil chemist in the office of the president. As a former diplomat and trained lawyer Msaka outwit Matabwa; the soil scientist who later was deposited at Admarc as it dysfunctional Chief Executive Officer.

Why did Msaka really fail in the diplomatic service and later got incriminated in the recent treason arrests by the Joyce Banda administration? Was it because Joyce Banda wanted her home mates to surround her in government as it is reported  that both  Samuti and Ndilowe come from Zomba.? The answer maybe yes or no because Joyce Banda does not seem to favour people from either her home or her husband districts. She has demonstrated favouritism towards people from Nkhatabay and Zomba. It is very likely, this stigma will come to haunt her election campaign in 2014.

Why is Msaka in hot soup now?  Msaka was educated during the time the country was a dictatorship. His studies were based on non-democratic governance models. This is coupled by the fact that the history of democratic governance is relatively brief in the country. Consequently Msaka brought these incorrect ways of thinking in government. Yes, Msaka was a betrayer to diplomatic colleagues.. He never thought apart from himself, others could also be qualified to serve in the civil service even as chairperson of a statutory  companies. Trully, Msaka demonstrated the irrationality with which government officials make decisions that are neither in their best interest nor in the interest of citizens for which he was expected to serve. Msaka should have known that concepts of democracy are deeply rooted in the obedience to the teachings of the Bible. Democracy requires understanding that God is King and reigns over all nations. It is not about intelligence or connections to those in influential positions.  Consequently, Msaka is paying a price for his arrogance to fellow citizens. Let him taste how criminal charges affect others proving that ‘ Kwatsala chire ndiye kumapita moto.’