Joyce Banda wraps-up campaign in upbeat mood to win
President Joyce Banda ended her electioneering in her home district of Zomba on Saturday in an upbeat mood ready to secure her own mandate in this week’s elections.
Malawi holds its fifth general elections on Tuesday since attaining multiparty democracy in 1994. Banda with the incumbency advantage is a front runner.
President Banda has traversed the country handing out cows, goats, maize seeds and new houses to people in rural areas. An estimated 80% of the population live in rural areas.
During her final rally before heading to the polls, President Banda reminded Malawians that her government has turned around Malawi’s moribund economy by addressing fuel shortages, a lack of foreign exchange and the spiralling inflation rate – problems she says she inherited when she assumed power, following the sudden death of Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5 2012.
“I have made sure that fuel and forex are available in the country. My government has ensured the availability of maize in all ADMARC depots during the lean period,” she said in her home village of Songani on the outskirts of Zomba, while urging Malawians to appreciate the role her PP government has done so far.
The President said she is “very confident of victory”.
Banda said she is hell bent to continue developing this country through innovative programmes such as Mudzi Transformation Trust in which government is building houses for poor people in rural areas and presidential initiative on the elimination of hunger.
She said for the past two years her government has also provided rural people with safe water and electricity under rural electrification project despite the economic challenges his government has been facing.
The PP flag bearer added that the two years she has been in power, people in rural areas have benefited a lot from Public Works Programme (PWP) where beneficiaries receive K300 per day after working for six hours.
She said PWP has enabled farmers to earn money which they have used to establish Village Savings Loan groups and buy farm inputs.
Banda said this is why her government has embarked on ‘A cow per family’ project in which poor farmers receive dairy cows to increase livestock production in the country.
The President, therefore, said her government will continue with pro-poor programmes, saying time has come for Malawians living in rural areas to benefit from their government.
Banda kept her campaign schedule busy in the last 60 days of electioneering, attending rallies almost every day and delivering hours-long speeches in each of the occasions.
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