President Arthur Peter Mutharika's decision to move the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) from the Office of the Vice President to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) has triggered serious political questions that government has failed to convincingly answer. Officially, the shift is being sold as an administrative move meant to improve coordination and speed up disaster response. But in Malawi's political reality, such changes are rarely innocent.
Chief Secretary Justin Saidi claims that placing DoDMA under OPC will allow for better control and faster mobilization of resources. That sounds reasonable on paper. But politically, it strips Vice President Dr Jane Ansah of her single most powerful portfolio, reducing her visibility and weakening her institutional authority. That is why many Malawians are asking: Is this really about efficiency--or about power?
This is not the first time Mutharika has used DoDMA as a political tool. In 2020, he removed the department from the Office of Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima after Chilima broke away from DPP and challenged him in court. That move was later rejected by the Constitutional Court, which restored Chilima's position. What followed was a confused reshuffle that created a standalone ministry--widely seen as a political workaround rather than a serious reform.
In other words, DoDMA has a history of being used to manage political threats, not to improve disaster response.
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That history makes the current move even more troubling.
Jane Ansah is not a career politician. She came into politics as a respected Supreme Court judge and technocrat. Inside DPP, this has made her both valuable and dangerous. She was chosen as Mutharika's running mate precisely because she was seen as credible, disciplined and clean--a potential bridge to a post-Mutharika future. But to party hardliners, she is also an outsider with growing national appeal.
That is why her removal from DoDMA looks less like routine administration and more like political containment.
By taking DoDMA to OPC, Mutharika has effectively pulled away Ansah's biggest platform. Disaster management is one of the most visible and politically powerful government functions. Whoever controls it controls public perception in times of floods, droughts and humanitarian crises. Removing it from the Vice President weakens her standing both inside government and inside the party.
Yet the irony is that Ansah has not given any reason to be punished.
Although she has only been Vice President for a short time, her performance has been steady and professional. She has engaged Parliament, civil society and the public with calm authority. Her background as a Supreme Court judge gives her a deep understanding of institutions, law and accountability. Her experience in the turbulent 2019 elections toughened her politically and prepared her for crisis leadership.
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During the 2025 campaign, she was the most visible and energetic of Mutharika's running mates, travelling across the country while other party leaders stayed confined to their regional bases. She earned political capital not through intrigue but through hard work.
So if she has performed well, why clip her wings?
The uncomfortable truth may be that her loyalty and growing stature now make her a threat to those who want to control DPP's future. Instead of being supported, she appears to be quietly sidelined.
If this is the case, then Malawi is not witnessing reform--it is witnessing the old politics of fear and power preservation.
Jane Ansah is not Malawi's problem. If anything, she represents the kind of disciplined, principled leadership the country badly needs. Weakening her does not strengthen government. It weakens it.
And if loyalty is now a liability, then the problem lies not with the Vice President--but with the system she serves.
