Joyce Chitsulo
Joyce Chitsulo | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Malawian |
| Occupation | politician |
| Known for | chaired the Public Appointments Committee |
| Political party | Democratic Progressive Party |
Joyce Chitsulo is a Malawian politician for Mwanza West. She is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party and she lead the Public Appointments Committee until she became the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture.
Life
[edit]Chitsulo is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party and the Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus. She represents the Mwanza West constituency.[1]
Chitsulo led the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) which included Francesca Masamba. In 2020 she took allegations of corruption against Masamba to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.[2] Masamba was arrested because of allegations from a candidate applying to lead the Directorate of Public Officers Declarations. Masamba allegedly demanded a large payment in exchange for supporting the candidates application.[3]
In 2023 she and Ashems Songwe published "Why Malawi’s record cholera outbreak demands long-term solutions" in the New Humanitarian. They argued that at the forthcoming UN Water Conference in New York there should be an international move to improve sanitation including in Malawi. Cholera was becoming an increasing problem and although it is treatable the underlying causes are sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (aka WASH). Ten people a year usually die from Cholera in Malawi, but recently the figure was 1,500. Malawi intended to fix this they said but it could not do it alone.[4]
In May 2024 Chitsulu's Public Appointments Committee demanded that the Ministry of Foreigns Affairs should recall all of their staff working abroad who were principal officers who had not been vetted by the PAC. The request came as the of David Bisnowaty's appointment to be Malawi's charge d'affaires in Israel. PAC apprpveall senior appointments but it appears that this had been avoided by the Ministry of Foreigns Affairs. She accused the ministry of appointing principal officers on a temporary basis and they could in theory lead an embassy for four years without any oversight by PAC.[5] Bisnowaty (an ex MP) and Nancy Tembo argued that the oversight was unnecessary and Bisnowaty was volunteering for the role. Chitsulo and civil society supporters wanted Bisnowaty to be approved and they found the argument that he was a volunteer when he was controlling the embassy's funds was dubious.[6]
President Lazurus Chakwera appointed Chitsulo as the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture and as a result she was replaced in January 2025 by Grant Ndecha as the chair of the PAC.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "PWC Home – PWC Malawi". Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- ^ Mkandawire, Mwayi (2020-11-05). "DPP MP Masamba arrested for demanding K2 million from job candidate Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi". Malawi 24. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- ^ "ACB ARRESTS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR MANGOCHI EAST CONSTITUENCY, HON. FRANCESCA MASAMBA – The Anti-Corruption Bureau". Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- ^ "The New Humanitarian | Why Malawi's record cholera outbreak demands long-term solutions". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- ^ Chimjeka, Rebecca (2024-05-30). "Public Appointments Committee asks government to recall diplomats". The Times Group. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- ^ News, Times (2024-05-13). "CSOs, Pac insist on Bisnowaty interview". The Times Group. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "PAC of Parliament elects new Chairperson and Vice Chairperson". Malawi Freedom Network. 2025-01-08. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
 | This article needs additional or more specific categories. (January 2025) |