By Edmund Kachale
In “Why keep the dead-weight Malawi vice presidency when Kamuzu’s model worked?” Anthony Simwaka argues that Malawi would be better off without the Office of the Vice President. He contrasts the democratic era since 1994 with the 30 years of one-party rule under Kamuzu Banda, claiming the latter provided more stability through mechanisms that ensured continuity when a president could no longer govern.
Challenging that view, Edmund Kachale counters that Simwaka’s reasoning is flawed. If we followed his line of thought, Kachale says, “we could just ask why we maintain democracy when autocracy has, at times, delivered tangible developments.”
Mr. Kachale, the floor is yours:
“The fact that the vice presidency doesn’t seem to work in our system isn’t a failure of the office itself, but rather a reflection of flaws in our political structure.
“The challenges facing the office of the Vice President in our country are not unique to the individual holding the position. They come from the way our political system is structured. Unlike in systems such as that of the United States, which is widely regarded as a benchmark of modern democratic governance, our vice presidency lacks clearly defined responsibilities and a coherent pathway for influence or succession.
“In the US, the VP role is integrated into the broader governance framework, often with minimal friction between the President and his VP. There, the VP is not merely a seat filler but an active participant in government. The system is deliberately designed to avoid internal competition and tension, particularly between an incumbent President and his VP.
“By contrast, our arrangement is peculiar. The VP is often left with no substantive responsibilities and, in some cases, no political future beyond their current role. This creates a situation where the VP can become politically idle, and even worse, a political rival to the President. It’s no surprise, then, that we periodically witness scenarios where a sitting VP publicly challenges the President, resulting in strained relations and national embarrassment.
“I think to fix this, we must rethink and reform the [Malawi] vice presidency. First, the office should be given clearly defined responsibilities, with specific sectors or initiatives falling directly under its purview. This would ensure that the VP is held accountable for measurable outcomes, reducing the reliance on presidential delegation as an excuse for inaction. Secondly, our political system should be restructured to create a more coherent and predictable succession plan where the VP is not seen as an adversary-in-waiting but as a collaborative partner in governance.”
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Editor’s Note: Readers are encouraged to contribute perspectives on governance, as Mr. Simwaka and Mr. Kachale, have demonstrated. Together, we can shape the Malawi we aspire to, step by step, block by block. Share your thoughts and articles with us at [email protected].
