…DPP MP joins Tonse Alliance
…UTM stripped of key posts
..PPM President fired.
The Tonse Alliance is all but gone with the new cabinet appointed Tuesday midnight as all the main partner UTM has been delegated to minor Ministries.
President Lazarus Chakwera has consolidated the Malawi Congress Party grip controlling all key Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, Health, Education, Trade and Industry, Homeland Security Transport, Foreign Affairs with his loyalists.
In a very act of termination of the alliance, the President has appointed Owen Chomanika who joined the DPP into the Alliance cabinet while firing a President of a partner party.
According to the agreement signed by President Chakwera and Vice President Saulos Chilima who is UTM leader, the Vice President party was supposed to hold at least portifolios of Finance, Public Services and Agriculture.
Since the start of the Cabinet, none of UTM officials have held the posts and key strategic Ministries of Economic Planning, Transport and Energy were removed from the party along the way.
The UTM has now effectively been left with three portifolios with its Vice President Micheal Usi left to manage Natural Resources and Climate Change, its party advisor Agness Nyalonje now in charge of the countries Labour issues and Nancy Chaola Mdooko returning now as Deputy Minister for Education.
The party’s Secretary General Patricia Kaliati has been fired as Gender Minister.
People Progressive Movement President Mark Katsonga Phiri has been booted from the Cabinet as well which the President said he was removing non performing Ministers.
Only Ibrahim Matola who still holds the post of Secretary General for the Peoples Party has been retained as Energy Minister. Senior Peoples Party officials claim Matola has abandoned all Party affairs and he is suspected to have dumped the party for MCP.
