In recent weeks, a corrosive and intellectually dishonest narrative has been peddled across social media platform narratives claiming the Office of the Second Vice-President is “useless,” or “unnecessary.” This is not benign chatter; it is a calculated campaign of misinformation designed to undermine our constitutional order and sabotage the efficient execution of the government’s development agenda.
Such claims are not merely baseless; they are a reckless insult to the foundational law of Malawi and a deliberate attempt to confuse the citizenry.
Let us be unequivocally clear, the Office of the Second Vice-President is a constitutionally-mandated pillar of our Executive Section 79 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi that establishes the positions of the First and Second Vice-Presidents.
Furthermore, Section 80(5) explicitly grants the President the authority to appoint a Second Vice-President, who exercises powers and performs functions delegated by both the Constitution and the President himself. To label this office “useless” is not an opinion, it is a glaring display of either profound ignorance or malicious intent.
The current administration, under the wise leadership of His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, has made a strategic choice to institute a lean, focused, and cost-effective cabinet.
This is a model of prudent governance. However, the genius of this structure is fully realized through the effective deployment of the entire Executive team, including the Vice-Presidents.
The President cannot be physically present in every ministry, at every project site, or addressing every national concern simultaneously. The Vice-Presidents are his force multipliers.
In this streamlined model, the role of the Second Vice-President becomes not less important, but more critical than ever. He is not a redundant layer of bureaucracy but a key operational arm of the Presidency.
The recent delegation of duties by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Mr. Justin Saidi, underscores this precise point. While the First Vice-President, Dr. Jane Ansah, spearheads crucial national efforts in disaster management, the Second Vice-President, Honourable Enock Kamzingeni Chihana, has been entrusted with a transformative national project, the championing and completion of Mombera University.
This is far from a ceremonial title. Overseeing a project of this magnitude as a strategic initiative to expand higher education, stimulate the economy of the Northern Region, and build Malawi’s future human capital requires high-level coordination across multiple ministries, including Education, Transport, and Public Works.
It involves managing contractors, engineers, and budgets. This is hands-on, impactful leadership that directly translates presidential vision into tangible reality. To dismiss this vital coordination role as “useless” is to dismiss the development aspirations of the nation itself.
Furthermore, the Second Vice-President has been actively engaging with local leaders, addressing public concerns such as the passport crisis, and representing the interests of the governing alliance.
These are essential functions that ensure the government remains connected and responsive.
