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Featured » National
Bingu pleads with August 17 vigil organizers
| August 14, 2011 · 28 Comments |
By Lusubilo Sichali, Nyasa Times
In a 25-minute long national address monitored on state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) on Sunday, President Bingu wa Mutharika pleaded with organizers of the August 17 mass protests to call them off, claiming his government is doing all it can to improve the deteriorating economic and political governance in the southern Africa nation.
“Let’s join hands for peace and security; let’s for once agree to work together to develop our mother Malawi for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren,” said Mutharika.
The president said he had put in place several measures to address the concerns raised in a petition presented to him during the July 20 demonstrations but said these could not come to fruition “within three weeks”.
Mutharika: Cancel the demo
He said, actually most of the measures were already highlighted before the July 20 demostrations and that if the civil society leaders had listened to him not to go ahead with the protests, lives of people could not have been lost.
Among the measures, Mutharika said he had put in place a high-level presidential committee on dialogue which will engage NGO and any other groups and individuals on economic and political governance and development of the country.
He said he would be appointing a commission of Inquiry to examine in detail factors and circumstances that led deaths, rioting and general disorder on July 20. He disclosed that he has been in touch with the United Nations secretary general, who has agreed to send a senior official to be part of the commission of inquiry, which he said would also include experts from the AU and SADC.
On fuel, the embattled president said he had established the National Oil Company, which be solely responsible for the importation of fuel in Malawi and that in order to conclusively deal with the erratic fuel supply, his government would construct six fuel reserve and storage, two in Mzuzu, two in Lilongwe and two in Blantyre, for petrol and diesel. These facilities would be ready within the next 12 months, he said.
The Head of State then said there have been put in place complete measures to foreign exchange earnings and that with tobacco prices improving, foreign exchange reserves position has shown marked improvement.
“We are now able to import and pay for essential commodities,” Mutharika enthused, highlighting the recent devaluation of the Kwacha as another measure that ensure further improvement in the foreign currency reserves.
On what he said are “bad laws”, he said it was parliament that had enacted them following laid down procedures and if they were to be reviewed, it was the same parliament that would review them.
President Mutharika said on the basis of such measures, the organizers of the August 17 demonstrations must carefully review their position. He said his government is working towards absolutely addressing issues affecting Malawians at all levels but that they cannot come to fruition all at one time.
He said if the organizers insist on taking to the streets, then Malawians should judge them as “irresponsible”.
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Tags: Bingu wa Mutharika, demonstrations
28 Responses to “Bingu pleads with August 17 vigil organizers”
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A bambo Kuthakwanansi Chimgada-ngati mulibe mfundo kulibwino kungokhala chete. A tumbuka kodi muzasitha liti? Kota yabvuta mpaka pamenepa? Kamuitaneni mbale wanu uja kumandako a khale presidenti wanu. Mumaziona anthu a mzeru koma mukusowanso Presidential candidate, business simumaitha, chalichi chimakuvutani. Chifukwa chosowa presidenti mumayamba kulambira a kulu akulu anu amipingo. Anthu obvuta inu!
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Replyl don’t trust u anymore bingu who r u deceiving. we Will still go into the street utilila uona
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Replythe pressure is nw on, jst last wk he was saying he will smoke the protestors & nw he has changed tune im afraid to say that im not buying this
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ReplyKodi, do we really nid a commission of enquiry to establish that the police shot dead innocent Malawians? Do we need a commission to establish what is wrong with Chancellor College closure?Who assented to the bad and unpopular laws? Is it not you Mr President? Is it not you who brought thes Chines peaple who apart from their development, they hold no bank account with any local bank but just syphone our hard earned forex to their home? You sorround urself with peaple who can not tell you the truth cause that is what you want.Instead of you be like a father to the Nation,is it not you who organise beer parties for the venders,a thing which only a coward can do,is it not who encourages you cadet to fight against peaceful demonstrators? Shame on you Mr President,even an illiterate perso can solve the Chanco impulse, it doesnt need any special training whatso ever, shame on you,shame
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ReplyDo u need one year to think on how u can tell the nation about your wealth resources?If the resources were not zigzag what makes you fail to explain?
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ReplyMERCENARIES-Please allow us to express our concern for many articles read in one of your website The Nysatimes Reports.
Briefly we advise many Malawians the sole duty of Mercenaries.The first outmost is a hired group and usually by the authorities in that country noded by the head of state or the otherside of the Govt for basically taking over the Govt.This must be heard clearly to many Malawians because for the passed three/four days many write-ups were useless and baseless.
Heving seen thet all your comments are exusted we felt we this must be responded without fear or whatsoever that we are not hiding at all as many of you reported.You see us on 17th August,2011.Learn better the duties of Mercenaries and some of them is to bring law and order in the country where the seating in Army is comprimising the situation.Yes,we must admitt that we have been hire and I borrow the word of one writer ” ADVISOR” that Mercenaries are not just local soldiers as you might think about,these are well tained and of -couse retired Soldiers and their sole duties are to bring peace in a conficted country and we always favour to who has hired us and this always applies to coup. We are so shocked to have read in one of your papers by the Army of Malawi that if the issue comes out of control they will jump into the matter ah! we think the one who made that comment is not a soldier.All Armies in any country know the duty of mercenaries as these are best war fighters and they are never conguered.We have been to many African Countries.We are so annoyed with comment made the Malawi Army and please this must not be repeated because we cannot fight them these are just our CHILDREN IN A KINDERGARDEN.We are very organised and highly qualified trained retired soldiers and please dont tell the nation of Malawi rubbish.
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ReplyHE thinks we are kids.lets go into the streets.they will not kill us this time its a Virgil.What will be the problem if he just says reinstate the four lecturers,withdraw the stupid bills etc.
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Replythis leader is very interesting, on Saturday HE said we will meet in the streets and today HE says am addressing issues in the petition.how can we trust him? we are there in the streets on 17th.if he doesn’t respond,we have plan D. and it will work.we want him out
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