Off the wall of veteran journalist Dickson Kashoti:  Dissects Malawi President Mutharika’s UN address

I made sure that I listen to APM addressing UNGA yesterday. He received a standing ovation after his 15 minute address. It was indeed a great, inspirational speech, a very moving speech for its target, the UN, foreign heads of state and the international community. My immediate reaction is that it is empty for Malawi and Malawians and does not inspire hope for most of the 17 million .Malawians grinding abject poverty.

Mutharika addressing the United Nations General Assembly
Mutharika addressing the United Nations General Assembly

I wish he told us how his administration is dealing with the daring gap between the rich and the poor because without dealing with this problem, coupled with the ever falling economy, the issues of Sustainable Development Goals are useless and can never be achieved. As expected, he once again invited international investors. He however forgot to tell them to come in December when water levels in Shire will be up, when power generation will be in full gear.

Even if they come now, their machines would sit idle waiting and praying to God to provide the rains earlier than his scheduled time of December and January. Our president should have told the investors to prepare to construct dams as water remains a scarce commodity 52 years after we cried for independence.

He talked passionately about the youth. As a person on the ground, the youth unemployment remains high here. Every president come and go singing the same old song of wishing to improve the situation for our youth. They are just used as political party balls and left in the cold.

The community colleges are ill conceived and ill timed. Most of them have no electricity and water and if the electricity and water do exist, they are not available because of the same old song of Escom and water boards. Incompetence.

Secondly, if the colleges start graduating the youth, the market will be over saturated because the economy is in ICU so most people do not have disposable income to buy vehicles, build houses etc.

It is interesting that the colleges are using old vehicles like alabions for practicals instead of the new technological vehicles. The economy cannot come out of the ICU if the graft busting body, the Anti Corruption Bureau is in ICU.

As the president acknowledged recently, 30 per cent of public money is stolen at Capital Hill. Cases of theft of public money seem to take time in courts except for the cash gate cases which have donors’ interest.

Other cases are yet to be taken to court and the suspected thieves are still working probably stealing more. All what the government can do is to transfer the suspected thief to another working post. I wish APM talked of the K236 billion heist of public money, where is this case, how is ACB handling the 36 or so files.

He should have asked for experienced international investigators like Scotland Yard and FBI to help out because if that money is back in Goodall’s public purse, it can do wonders and miracles to our economy. Otherwise, as I said earlier, it was a wonderful, great, moving speech for its intended target group but surely not for Malawi and its struggling Malawians.

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LWD
LWD
7 years ago

A very typical comment indeed. The commentator acknowledges that the speech was well articulated and crafted for its audience, the UNGA and yet he still wants the same speech to address the masses at home who were not listening except for the few who did it as vultures to ‘dissect it’? Be fair Bambo.
This was UNGA address not SONA!

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