By Chisomo Phiri
One of the ministers who have been left out in the new cabinet released midnight by President Chakwera Patricia Kaliati has spoken on her cabinet drop.
Kaliati who was a gender minister, has told local media that she is not bitter, as this is the President’s prerogative.
The general secretary of the key Tonse Alliance partner UTM, has however said that her dismissal from the cabinet is not an indication that there is a rift between president Chakwera and his vice Saulos Chilima.
” The cabinet change and my dismissal is not a surprise as this is the president’s decision. Again, this does end my relationship with the president, ” says Kaliati.
President Lazarus Chakwera on Tuesday night fulfilled his promise to reshuffle his cabinet by appointing 23 Ministers with 4 Deputies totalling to a 27 new member cabinet list.
In the new cabinet list,Chakwera axed Gospel Kazako, Timothy Mtambo, Eisenhower Mkaka, Mark Katsonga and Patricia Kaliati.
Patricia Annie Kaliati is a Malawian politician and former educator who has held various ministerial positions in the Cabinet of Malawi.
In the 1999 general elections, Kaliati was elected Member of Parliament(MP) for Mulanje West Constituency on a United Democratic Front ticket, a position she continues to hold.
In 2000, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Health to the Bakili Muluzi administration.
Kaliat was then shuffled to the Deputy Minister of National Public Events (2002–2004) and then Deputy Minister of Local Government.
She was re-elected in 2004 and was appointed Minister of Information and Tourism, renamed Minister of Information and Civic Education in May 2007, holding that position until May 2009.[
In the May 2009 elections Patricia Kaliati was again elected on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket.
Kaliati was appointed Minister of Gender, Children and Community Development in the cabinet that became effective on 15 June 2009.
She was dropped from the cabinet on 9 August 2010.
She was appointed Minister of Information and Civic Education in September 2011.
