Masisi's spring-cleaning stubborn stains

Masisi, a seasoned administrator particularly in the highest echelons of public service, would only have been too familiar with the predictable resistance that naturally greets any attempt to change the status quo.  This is even more pronounced when that change is attempted at national level, beginning with the public service and confronting established mindsets, practices, attitudes and policies.

The changes include tweaking the Cabinet two months after inauguration, firing the spy chief, reviewing the alcohol and hunting bans, pledging to fast-track privatisation and the streamlining of the civil service, and extending an olive branch to unions, opposition political parties and the media.