By Julius Caleone Mbewe

President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday fired Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi as Secretary to the President and Cabinet who has since been replaced by Collen Zamba.

Addressing a media briefing on Wednesday at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, the Malawi leader also outlined austerity measures aiming at dealing with government expenditure amid a rise in cost of living.

He said all public officers who need to travel abroad who be allowed to take more than three trips during the reminder of the year.

“Public officers, including myself, who need to travel abroad for their work out of absolute necessity will only be allowed to take no more than three trips during the remainder of the year, unless in cases of unforeseen extreme emergency.

“The number of people in a delegation travelling abroad will be subjected to stringent restrictions. No top-up allowances will be paid to public officers on fully funded trips for work, training, workshops, or conferences,” Chakwera said.

Chakwera also issued a 21-day ultimatum to Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Martha Chizuma to provide a report to the Head of State regarding investigation involving businessperson Zuneth Sattar.

“Considering that this matter is of high national interest, I would expect that a specific report on this issue be made available within 21 days to allow my office and the country to be appraised.

“As Malawians have every right to know the extent of the whole thing and the actions that will be taken on it. And as I have said to all of you before, so I assure you again now: no one who gets formally charged from that process will be shielded by me,” he said.

The President also announced what he called a new nation-wide campaign for driving corruption out of Government agencies, which he said will be launched this July at a National Anti-Corruption Conference that he will host.