Malawi president appoints new Cabinet

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) – Malawi’s president has appointed a new Cabinet that includes replacements for the finance and justice ministers, amid allegations of high-level corruption in one of Africa’s poorest countries.

President Joyce Banda sacked her previous Cabinet last week. The government overhaul follows the Sept. 13 shooting of Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo, who is believed to have been targeted because of his efforts to stop graft. He was taken to South Africa for treatment.

In appointments announced Tuesday, Maxwell Mkwezalamba, a former commissioner at the African Union Commission in Ethiopia, became finance minister, and Fahad Assani, former director of public prosecutions, became justice minister.

Assani has said corruption is endemic in Malawi, estimating that 30 percent of the government budget is lost through fraud and corruption annually.

Source: apnews.com

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