MCP brands DPP’s first year one of ‘hardship’ – as government prepares rebuttal report

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila has launched a scathing attack on President Peter Mutharika’s government, branding the year since the DPP swept back to power one of hardship for ordinary Malawians.

“The DPP government is not on the side of Malawians,” Kabwila declared, accusing the administration of failing to get to grips with corruption and of leaving farmers – particularly those in the vital tobacco sector – without adequate support in an economy still heavily reliant on agriculture.

Kabwila reserved some of her fiercest criticism for the government’s record on higher education, arguing that soaring university fees have placed tertiary education increasingly out of reach for poorer Malawians, while chiefly benefiting the wealthy and politically connected.

She confirmed that MCP intends to publish a comprehensive assessment of the DPP’s first year in office next week, laying out what the party regards as the government’s key failures and the impact those failures have had on ordinary citizens.

But government was quick to fire back, with spokesperson Shadreck Namalomba confirming that it too is preparing a report card of its own on the DPP’s maiden year in power – setting the stage for Malawians to be treated to two competing verdicts on the same twelve months, delivered in the space of days.