Of Chakwera calling Mutharika ‘failed leader’ and Malawi govt’s slurs
I am not a fan of Leader of Opposition and President of the Malawi Congress Pary (MCP), Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, neither am I President Peter Mutharika’s admirer. I am just a mere Malawian scribe trying to do what is right and best for my compatriots. Today, I want to write about the unending war of words between the two leaders and their seemingly relentless urge to outsmart each other at the expense of a suffering people. 
On December 8, 2016, Reverend Dr. Chakwera, the self-styled man of few words, got up on the wrong side of the bed. He decided ‘enough is enough’ and issued a strong statement, rebuking President Mutharika and his DPP government for driving this country into the ditch.
The Reverend called the spade by its actual name, informing Mutharika and his cohorts they have failed Malawians big time and that they can as well leave the scene to prevent further social and economic damage. Of course, he attempted to offer some free advice to President Mutharika and his administration if they were to turn around Malawi’s political, social and economic situation.
Chakwera told the entire world that Mutharika’s leadership is destroying this country and that government officials are “themselves now publicly admitting”.
For example, he quoted the Minister of Finance as having admitted that “the economy is no longer in the hands of the Mutharika government, but in God’s hands”. He went on to quote the Governor of the Reserve Bank as saying that the country’s economy is “in dire straits, like a stranded ship with no captain”.
That the economy of this country is in tatters is an open secret. Mutharika and his cronies continue to amass immense wealth through suspicious means when Malawians are hungry and angry. Any voice of reason seem to fall on deaf ears and when someone dares to remind the country’s leadership about the predicament ordinary Malawians find themselves in, they are either seriously dressed down on public MBC television and radio or arrested and charged with treason.
Malawians are yearning for survival under the weight of economic stagnation and acute maladministration. Inflation has skyrocketed, interest rates are very high and the unemployment rate is surging to unprecedented levels. Citizens cannot afford two meals a day anymore and service delivery has virtually ground to a halt.
So, in agreement with Chakwera, the last thing that Malawians want to see, as a matter of urgency, is the adoption of corrective policies and actions that can turn around the economy in the short-term. The regime must put the nation and the people of Malawi ahead of narrow personal, tribal and political interests.
But it seems the DPP regime is having none of that, at least if what we read on Saturday is anything to go by. Government issued a ‘response’ to Chakwera’s well-meaning statement. The government’s statement, dated December 16, 2016, and signed by the Information Minister, Malison Ndau, leaves a lot to be desired with regard to solving the current problems.
Government argued that Chakwera’s statement “reflected more of his own state of mind, his ulterior motives, his political psychology and the nature of his leadership more than the state of the nation”. Some of us wish to differ with this observation. Chakwera strove to depict the exact situation Malawians find themselves today and what should be done to solve the mounting social and economic problems.
As Leader of Opposition, Chakwera is duty-bound to hold government accountable for its commissions and omissions. The opposition represents an alternative government and it is incumbent upon it, through the official opposition leader, to constantly ‘question’ the government. Democracy demands that government remains answerable to the public at all times.
The Leader of Opposition must always keep a close eye and ear on what people are saying, needs and wants, especially when government cannot provide the necessary basic services, including health, education, food, electricity, water and shelter. President Mutharika must therefore stop playing the lone-wolf in the wilderness.
Indeed, instead waging a ‘war of words’ against Chakwera and other opposition leaders, President Mutharika and his regime should be initiating positive dialogue with the opposition and all stakeholders to find concrete solutions to the pressing problems faced by Malawians.
Instead of wasting government resources, energy and time to outdo an individual in the name of Chakwera, the regime must be pre-occupied with the process of finding ways of restoring reliable power to revitalize and stimulate the formal and informal economic sectors for the good of the larger citizenry.
Government must be pre-occupied with creating a conducive economic environment to attract direct foreign investments (FDIs), which in turn would generate many jobs for citizens and conversely improve people’s livelihoods.
The least that Malawians expect from their government IS a reminder about how many times since 1994 the MCP has lost national elections. The least a peasant farmer at Kunenekude in Neno, Kaporo in Karonga, M’biza in Mulanje, Mbalachanda in Mzimba, Chikanda in Zomba and a factory labourer at Safarao in Ndirande want is a reminder about what transpired during the highly contentious May 20, 2014 tripartite elections. Malawians have come to terms with the outcome of the May 20, 2014 elections and have moved on. The wounds healed long time ago and it is pointless to start opening them today.
In our economic desperation, who is interested to know about Joyce Banda asking the Malawi Defence Force to act against the purported winner of the presidential polls, Peter Mutharika, in this case?
This finger-pointing and name-calling must end. Government, the opposition, the civil society, religious leaders, the academia and everyone must come together to contribute to the improvement of the deteriorating social and economic situation of our own making.
Most importantly, President Peter Mutharika must now start listening to voices of reason. He must realize that the boat is sinking. Mr. Captain, if you carry on at this rate, we shall all perish sooner than later.
People are feeling the pinch.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :“Our nation is in crisis. And in times of national crisis, leadership is critical. But unfortunately for us, the crisis we face is one of leadership itself.” – Rev Dr Lazarous Chakwera
I hate this government Big TIME!
Mndambala boy, you need political glasses to see these things clearly. There is nothing new Chakwera is talking about here. We have all seen what is going wrong, what we need are solutions which I expected Chakwera to give. The secret with our politics is that we have a mentality that if the incumbent is doing extra good there are all chances to win the next elections. Having this in mind, Chakwera can not give any advice which can make APM a good guy. Woyenda naye bawo samakuuzira mtaji. So Chakwera can not be a good advisor to Peter. He… Read more »
You see? that’s where the problem is, once you have mentioned about the Party to me you are Politician unlike me same with what Chakwera said, Malawi doesn’t need Politicians buddy, we need leaders who has people at heart bro, and am worried about you now that you are trying to run away from the truth that indeed things are not good as it was before, you have just mentioned here about the cut of support, of which you know the reason i think i don’t need to remind you that its because of these thieves you are calling them… Read more »
The difference I see between Chakwera and APM is that they see Malawwi differently. APM and those surrounding him see Malawi as a prosperous nation. I can understand APM and his team perception of Malawi. They have accumulated wealth , get big businesses from government, live in safe and secured neighbourhoods, have power 24/7 with ESCOM and gen sets, send their children to international high schools, drive expensive car, fill embassy, ministerial and other senior public service jobs, they can break laws and not be called to account and they are all on VIP Medical scheme. They don’t visit public… Read more »
Great!! you are not a Politician, but a Malawian.
Away ndiye many omveka bwino. The problem lies with Mutharika and his allies. These people are not interested in moving the country forward so that each and every citizen benefits from the little we have. They are so greedy that common sense is so alien and cannot accept that their professor has miserably failed and does not have a clue about how to stop the ship from sinking. If only you can appreciate how much people are suffering, no one in their right mind would come out to shower abuse at the leader of the opposition. He is simply communicating… Read more »
Thom At the bottom of your post is the statement of Chakwera. Don’t you think this statement is fit for Chakwera himself in MCP? Thom, you have been reminded now and again that your extruded eyes are not able to see on behalf of every Malawian. Malawians chose who to lead them in 2014 and to your shock they chose the DPP and APM. They will also do the choosing in 2019 according to our constitution, not because of Chakwera’s wishes. If Malawians are tired of this party, it is that time that they will show this govt an exit… Read more »
Santana what ever you call yourself, Thomu is not talking about elections buddy, he is talking about what Chakwera said of which its 100% true, you and your so called wining party we don’t care about that, i my self and of many Malawians we are worried where our beautiful country is going, cant you see? you must be mad if you cant see this, the problem of many people from that side is that they don’t know who they are until they come pa central kudzalima. am sure ndiwe mmodzi mwa iwo.
Santana, can’t you really see the problems we Malawians are going through? Problems of corruption, nepotism, high cost of living, power and water? If you cannot see these then you need a mental checkup! Chakwera is 100% right when he tells Mutharika about his failure to run this country. It is not about MCP or DPP but about the problems Malawi is going through and government’s failure to solve them and these problems affect all of us in the country, regardless of one’s region, tribe, or political party! Learn to appreciate good criticism, Chakwera’s is!!!!
I would only agree with you on one point: that Chakwera does not guarantee the best leadership of the country just by playing leader of opposition. But what did APM run before he was invited in by late Bingu? Everything he touched his hands on failed during his brother’s era, and it was clear he – an academician – was still heavily taking instructions from his brother during the academic freedom saga. Your foolish head, Santana, thinks APM should lead without checks and balances, yet you seem to claim democracy is why APM is leading Malawians today. News for you:… Read more »
Thomu, am here as a fan of Chakwera, totally different with you, but because we are all Malawians in one Ship, one Captain and heading one direction. Lets first see who we are to day, seriously if i may put it in that way, our Country has taken a direction where we all of us can not see but just feel that we are moving which is very dangerous, What Mr Chakwera just to say that for the sake of other opinions was true, I much respect people who can drive and save lives at the same time, Thomu if… Read more »
I think Chakwera and Even Peter himself openly acknowledge that we have serious problems in our country. If you look at the last quote in this article you realise that Chakwera is getting personal with Peter, a thing, which the article is criticing the DPP for. I think both Chakwera and DPP are trying to outsamrt each other as politicians. But as rightly observed there is no need to out-do each other, ife sitimadya ma smartness…. So both are wrong here in the way they are trying to score political points over our troubles.
Buddy read again what chakwera said about Peter, i don’t see him[ Chakwera} personaly attacking Peter, if peter and you yourself see like that, then its not Chakwera but all Malawians are attacking you and your boss, unless you have decided to hide your truth inside your heart. Chakwera was talking about leadership buddy.
Pajatu ukaliza muluzu agalu amakweza makutu. Laz only attacked poor governance policies and whoever feels offended is surely personally responsible for this country’s bad shape.
You see!!!!