Chakwera slurs Mutharika for behaving like an amnesia patient: ‘MCP promises to make Malawi great’

Leader of opposition in parliament and  president of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Lazarus Chakwera, says his party is the “best” option for Malawi to being  much needed change to a fundamentally corrupt system and economy, reiterating that President Peter Mutharika has “failed” the nation.

In an interview on Times Exclusive  television program by host Brian Banda on Saturday, monitored on Times TV by Nyasa Times, Chakwera said his party will bring about meaningful change once it takes over the reins of power in 2019.

“We will come up with policies that will inspire Malawians,” said Chakwera.

According to Chakwera, he has “a game plan” to turn things around in the country but refused to tell it out saying it was not yet time.

He said if he were Malawian leader, he would be better off.

“I could have done things differently,” he said but could not reveal the ‘Chakwera-conomics’ that he has.

The pastor-turned-politician bemoaned the heightening corruption levels in Malawi, and said it was heart-rending that the country’s leadership was casting a blind eye on it.

“Government is stealing to buy loyalty from people by way of handouts. This is sad,” said Chakwera.

Chakwera said he does “not regret” calling Mutharika a “failed” President in as far as managing this country is concerned.

The MCP president said he was sticking to his words he said recently that Mutharika has failed Malawians because for, among others, failing to live a modest lifestyle; failing to make Malawi a secure place for investment; failing to lure donors.

He said: “If Mutharika was serious about fighting corruption, he would have implemented this solution right now. These are simple solutions that can turn our nation’s fortunes around seem impossible for this government to implement, not because they are too difficult, but because they require the kind of integrity of leadership that Mutharika and his cronies clearly do not have.”

Chakwera also justified his call for Mutharika to appear before the National Assembly to answer questions from legislators.

“It is a enshrined in the constitution for Mutharika to come back to parliament to answer questions. The president is supposed to interact with parliament,” he justified.

Asked if bringing Mutharika to parliament would change things, Chakwera was skeptical.

“It may not change things but at least it will demonstrate that we’re upholding our constitution [as a country],” he said.

According to Chakwera, he has “not lost hope” for Malawi but said there are a number of things that need to be annihilated.

“The cancer of corruption, for instance, must be handled with decisiveness,” he said.

During the interview, Chakwera also accused President Mutharika of changing statements as if he has memory loss.

“The way President Mutharika behaves these days it’s like he is suffering from Amnesia. He says this today and tomorrow he speaks completely oppositite,” said Chakwera.

Amnesia  happens when a person loses the ability to remember information and events they would normally be able to recall.

It could be something that happened seconds or minutes ago, or a memorable event that occurred in the past. The loss of memory may have started suddenly, or it may have been getting worse over the last year or so.

It’s normal to become a bit forgetful as one get older and Mutharika is 76 years old.

However, memory loss could be a symptom of something more serious  that needs medical check.

Chakwera came second in Malawi’s first ever tripartite elections in May 2014. He has remained vocal in as far as trying to make President Mutharika and his government accountable to the citizens.

He challenged Malawians that for this country to develop and move forward, everything has to start with Malawians themselves.

Chakwera stressed that his leadership is set to bring both the MCP and Malawi as a nation back on track to realise its dreams and vision.

He   said the new MCP offers hope to the people that have been looking for leadership that is selfless and that would be servant leadership.