TONSE GOVERNMENT REPORT: DAY 2

As the clock struck midnight, I concluded my second day in office.

I am happy to report that Dr. Chilima and I have made great progress in the formulation of Cabinet. As per procedure, nominees for cabinet will be consulted before appointment, following which they will still be at liberty to reconsider accepting the extent or form of their involvement in the event that certain exigencies of public office demand a change thereof, with assurance of no remonstration or recrimination on my part.

I will be announcing the rest of the Cabinet members very soon.

Additionally, on this second day, my Administration presented a budget to The People, whose representatives have duly passed it. This budget covers the necessary functions of government for the next four months, during which time we will work on a full budget. Key deliverables in this budget are:

▪︎ A preliminary fertiliser subsidy, giving 3.5 million smallholder farmers access to fertiliser at K4,495 as a precursor to our promise of a universal subsidy that is in the pipeline.

▪︎Increase of the minimum wage to K50,000 and increase of the tax-free threshold to K100,000.

▪︎Increase of the allocation to loan schemes like MEDF to 40 billion, with an additional 35 billion in the pipeline

Thirdly, I have spent the day receiving reports from various state institutions regarding the status of their operations, which will inform the steps I will soon be taking to ensure that all institutions have the wherewithal to address the anomalies and malpractices within them. Meanwhile, I am working in partnership with the intergovernmental inauguration committee to make sure that this ceremony conveys the sense that a new dawn has risen on Malawi.

This is all on top of hosting several dignitaries who have called on me to express their solidarity with our cause to free Malawians from poverty.