Chakwera urges DPP to be exemplary on three pillars of development : ‘Stop knee-jerk approach to policy formation’
Leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera has commended President Peter Mutharika for “going around the country” to enoucarouge Malawu to observe three pillars of patriotism, integrity and hard work to contribute to the development of the country but said his administration should be exemplary.
Chakwera, who is also Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president, said during his travel around the country he has found out that many Malawians already have these qualities in abundance.
“What they lack are national leaders who set the pace in these things,” he said.
Chakwera who was making a response to Mutharika’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) , called on the President and his entire cabinet to “stop promoting these things by words and to start promoting them by example.”
He said: “ A Government whose law enforcement agents raid the house of a sitting cabinet minister (George Chaponda) and confiscate millions of illicit cash without charging or arresting the minister in question cannot preach to Malawians about integrity.
“A President who organizes a conference about corruption but fails to mention the recommendations of that conference or to implement the recommendations of his own commission of enquiry cannot preach to Malawians about patriotism.”
In addition, Chakwera also called on the President to stop his “knee-jerk approach” to policy formation and to invest energy, time, and resources by expediting the implementation of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III.
The previous strategy expired in June last year, and Mutharika’s promise that the new strategy will be ready before July this year is a welcome development, Chakwera said.
However, the leader of opposiiotn Said what was missing in Mutharika address was an account of how the coming in of this strategy will affect or change the policy priorities of his government over the course of the next year.
“T he continued operations of government in the absence of a national policy agenda (following expiry of MGDS II in June last year) is not doing this country justice as we have no reference point on what we want to achieve.
“ I believe I speak for all Malawians when I say that we expect that high on the list of priorities in the new strategy will be agriculture, infrastructure development, manufacturing, youth empowerment and rural development. As I said before, just because a document with a strategy has been developed does not mean the people of Malawi has been developed,” said Chakwera.
Mutharika was not in parliament on Monday afternoon when Chakwera made the response. The President is in South Africa attending a pan African parliament business.
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