REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
SPEECH
BY HIS EXCELLENCY PROF. ARTHUR PETER MUTHARIKA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
AT
THEOFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY
OF THETHIRD AFRICA CABINET SECRETARIESROUND TABLE WORKSHOP
KAMUZU PALACE, LILONGWE,
ON
18TH APRIL, 2016
Good morning everyone! It is good to have you here. And I am delighted to preside over this official opening of the Third Round Table Workshop for Africa Cabinet Secretaries. Please, feel that you are most welcome.
Distinguished invited guests
I want to begin with a proverb. “A traveler who cannot tell where he is coming from cannot tell where he is going.”There is one crime Africa should never commit – ever! Africa should never forget where we are coming from.
Africa is one family with different households. We are here because we share a common piece of land stretching across 30 million square kilometers around us. We share a common past, in fact, the longest history of humankind. We were born out of this land, our blood flows with the rivers of this land, and we will be buried on this land of Africa.
Beyond the differences of our realities from country to country, we share common experiences that justify common approaches to policy making. I support a diachronic and endogenous approach to policy making in Africa. Diachronic because the foresight of policy must be guided by the wisdom of hindsight! Endogenous because policy must be informed by the insight of internal realities and evolve from indigenous situations of our people.
Many Governments, in Africa and beyond, are under increasing pressure to develop and implement policies that will bear fruits for their citizens. Perhaps this means we transplanted policies grown elsewhere and made our governments less effective. It is timely then to think about Enhancing Government’s Effectiveness through Evidence-informed Policy-making. The theme of your Conference resonates well with challenges we face today.
By the end of the day, we need policies that directly confront and address African challenges such as poverty, inequality, as well as corruption. If we are to confront and address these challenges adequately, it is critical that we make our decisions based on the best possible evidence. We must, therefore, consider evidence as an essential input in the policy-making process.
It is a fact that policy decisions are influenced by a range of factors, including interests, values, and timing. Therefore, policy-makers must sift through these factors with evidence and analysis in order to make informed judgment. Without evidence as the basis, policies are bound to be theoretical and unpractical. Such policies simply end up on book shelves, left to gather dust. It is, therefore, important that a rigorous evidence-based approach should be followed when developing public policies.
Distinguished invited guests
Cabinet Secretaries fulfill a very critical role in the policy-making process. It is your duty to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in Cabinet decision making. It is your duty to ensure availability of evidence to Cabinet. This includes, among other things, making sure that all relevant stakeholders at all levels, including the beneficiaries of the policies, are engaged sufficiently in the development of the policy process. It is your duty to ensure that appropriate procedures are developed to guide the policy-making process. If Africa is to move forward, we cannot tolerate haphazard policy development. We cannot accept policies that do not listen to the people, to the procedures, and to evidence.
But we must also consider building institutional capacity as well. It is, therefore, imperative that staff who work in Cabinet Secretariats and line ministries are equipped with the right skills.
Distinguished invited guests
Malawi, just like other countries in Africa, has come a long way in its efforts to enhance the policy-making process. I am pleased to report that the Government of Malawi recently launched a Public Policy Research and Analysis Project. The aim of this project is to strengthen the development and implementation of policies that are based on evidence. Another notable achievement made in this arena, is the development of a Policy Manual called The Guide to Executive Decision-making Process. This document is a reference tool for all those who are involved in policy formulation and implementation. It lays down the processes and procedures that must be followed by Government ministries, departments and agencies when developing public policies.
Distinguished invited guests
On behalf of other African leaders, I thank the UK Department for International Development for their support, especially for Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence program. I thank the Executive Director of Africa Cabinet Government Network, together with officials from Adam Smith International, for ably organizing this very important workshop.
Finally, I want to thank you the Cabinet Secretaries, each one of you, for coming to participate in this program. As we host you, remember that Africa is waiting for the results. This Council of African Cabinet Secretaries is a living symbol of African government’s commitment to strengthen decision-making processes.
I encourage you to seize this opportunity to engage adequately with each other and put together the best lessons you can. What we bind in union cannot be unbound easily. This is your moment to form strong networks for sharing ideas and experiences. This is your moment to partake in the refocusing of the African vision. Show us the path of effective decision-making; and Africa will follow.
Further, I invite you to take time and explore our beautiful Malawi. Enjoy the mountains. Go and experience the iconic Lake Malawi popularly known as the Calendar Lake, where you can swim, and appreciate over 1000 species of tropical freshwater fish, the only one in the world. Make Chambo your daily meal.
With these remarks, I declare the Third Africa Cabinet Secretaries Roundtable Workshop officially open.
May God bless you all.