President Peter Mutharika has reshuffled his cabinet which has seen Lilongwe Mtandire Mtsiriza parliamentarian Alfred Gangata moving to a third ministry within the four months of Mutharika’s presidency.
In a statement signed by Chief Secretary, Justin Saidi Mutharika has moved Gangata from being Minister of Natural Resources to Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.
He has swapped roles with Patricia Wiskes.
Mutharika has also appointed former private sector figure, Simon Itaye, as Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism.
Itaye takes over from George Patridge who Mutharika appointed last week as Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor.
Before being appointed as Minister of Natural Resources, Gangata was Minister of State. He was one of the first ministers Mutharika appointed into his Cabinet after the September elections.
Commenting on Gangata’s movement, National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said it could be that Mutharika is attempting to find a suitable positio
n for him.
“Honourable Gangata is youthful and, on paper, fit for the ministry to which he has been redeployed.
“The frequency of his movements may also signal ongoing attempts to find the most suitable portfolio for his skills. This should be read cautiously: even a capable minister will struggle to demonstrate impact without stability, time, and a clearly settled mandate,” Kondowe said.
He said the redeployment might disrupt continuity across the ministries.
“The rapid movement across three ministries suggests uncertainty in portfolio alignment and a reactive approach to Cabinet management.
“While flexibility can be useful, repeated redeployments disrupt continuity, delays reforms, and weakens institutional memory within key ministries,” he said.
Political and governance analyst George Chaima agreed with Kondowe.
“I want to believe that… he [Mutharika] wants to put him where he can fit best. So I should believe that the Ministry of Sports would be probably the best fit for him as compared to other ministries,” Chaima said.
He observed that some ministries and departments require expertise Mutharika may not have noted in Gangata.
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