ANALYSIS: Copy. Paste. Promise. Repeat—DPP’s 2025 Manifesto Exposed as a Brazen Cut-and-Paste from MCP’s Blueprint

In what can only be described as political theatre at its laziest, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has unveiled a 2025 manifesto that reads less like a development blueprint and more like a desperate copy and paste job from the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP)’s already-launched plan.

While MCP’s manifesto has been on the public stage since early July, DPP’s newly launched version in August appears to mirror entire segments—from road projects to rail revitalisation, air transport strategies to market infrastructure—with alarming precision and zero originality.

 Road Projects: Imitation, Not Innovation

The DPP’s list of road projects includes suspiciously familiar entries: Mzuzu West Bypass, Lilongwe Eastern Bypass, and the Chitipa–Mbilima Road—routes already detailed in MCP’s July manifesto. Worse still, these projects were absent in DPP’s own earlier submission to the National Planning Commission. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then DPP just wrote MCP a love letter. “For a party that governed for 14 years, the lack of originality is not just embarrassing—it’s dangerous for democracy,” one political analyst noted.

 Rail Transport: From Sabotage to Sudden Passion

While MCP is preparing to launch Malawi’s first electric train by 2026, rehabilitating critical links from Balaka to Nsanje, and integrating with TAZARA, DPP suddenly promises a railway revival. Yet this is the same party that let the rail network rot, preferring trucking firms owned by loyal financiers. How can the same party that killed Malawi’s rail system now claim to be its saviour? “They derailed us, now they want to drive the train,” reads one viral tweet.

Airports: Old Promises, No Takeoff

Since 2014, DPP promised airports in Mzuzu and Mangochi. What did Malawians get? Ceremonial visits, plaques, and ghost terminals. MCP, meanwhile, has rehabilitated Mzuzu and Karonga airports, secured flights, and signed regional aviation deals. Flights will resume for the first time in over a decade—proof that planes, unlike promises, need runways.

 Ports & Water Transport: Lost and Found

DPP sold taxpayer-funded ports to private cronies. Now they want them back? MCP has been quietly rebuilding: new jetties, rehabilitated ports, and a lake transport revival underway. DPP sunk our ports. MCP is raising them from the depths.

 Housing: Ghost Projects vs Brick-and-Mortar Delivery

DPP promised 10,000 police houses. They built 10. MCP is currently constructing 10,000 affordable homes, over 4,000 for security services, and dozens more for teachers and people with albinism.

 Markets: Fires, Failures, and Forgotten Vendors

Under DPP, market fires were common, mysterious, and never explained. They destroyed lives—and livelihoods. DPP now promises “modern markets” but says nothing about fire safety or prevention. MCP’s proposal? Modern, fire-compliant markets in all major cities. These are more than markets—they’re battlegrounds for dignity.

 Bus Terminals: From Selling to Saving

The DPP government sold off bus terminals in Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Blantyre, and Kasungu to their financier. MCP? Repossessed. Rehabilitated. Revived. DPP now dares to promise “modern terminals” again—no mention of their sell-off scandal. No shame. No accountability.

Universities: Foundation Stones and Fantasies

The fabled Mombera University? A plaque and a promise since 2011. Fast-forward to 2025: not a single classroom, no students, no staff. Meanwhile, MCP is building 10,000 classrooms, 250 secondary schools, and Inkosi Mbelwa University is finally funded—with construction commencing this year.

 Judicial Complex: Paper Projects vs Pouring Concrete

DPP’s 2014 manifesto promised a Judicial Complex in Lilongwe. Nothing happened—yet official records marked it “complete.” MCP secured K50 billion from China in 2024. Construction is already underway.

CDF: The K30 Million Lie

DPP gave constituencies K30 million annually. Now they promise K5 billion per constituency. Where was that money when they were in power? MCP raised it from K30 million to K200 million, funding visible, grassroots development.

 Leadership: Fit for Purpose?

DPP’s presidential ticket? 86-year-old Peter Mutharika and 70-year-old Jane Ansah. MCP’s? Chakwera and Vitumbiko Mumba—younger, tested, and physically capable of executing a development-heavy agenda.

 Conclusion: Promises We’ve Already Paid For

This manifesto is not just recycled—it’s insulting.

DPP ruled for over a decade. Most of what they now promise could have been done when they had full control of government. Instead, they borrowed, looted, and left Malawians in darkness—literally and figuratively.

Now they’ve copied MCP’s work, added glitter, and called it “vision.” But Malawians deserve better than recycled promises and repackaged lies.

 

 

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :