Chaponda says Joyce Banda embarrassed Mutharika at UN: ‘Should consult Malawi govt on her travels’
Malawi government has asked former president Joyce Banda to consult the authorities on her external travels to avoid embarrassing the country, saying that her presence at the just ended United Nations General Assembly side meetings in US was an embarrassment to incumbent President Peter Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led administration.
Banda attended the side meetings of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly, bumping into unsuspecting government officials.
Chaponda and human rights activist Billy Mayaya noted that Banda’s presence embarrassed the country at the UN side meetings.
“We don’t want to be misunderstood that we are jittery about former President Banda’s travels; our fears are simply that if she continues to avoid engaging with her successor, the country will continue to face the embarrassment of holding different views and positions on issues of national concern,” said Chaponda as quoted by The Nation.
According to the Foreign Affairs Minister, if the former president had consulted Mutharika, there would not have been need for government to send its representatives to the UN side meetings she was attending.
“She would have been the President’s and government’s envoy. This is what happens in all the civilised countries,” he added.
Former president’s spokesman Andekuche Chanthunya trashed Chaponda, saying there is no evidence to claim that Banda’s presence at the UN side meetings were an embarrassment to the Malawi government.
Chanthunya said former president Banda was not invited to the UN side meetings as a representative of government, but as a citizen of a member State and as founder of the Joyce Banda Foundation International.
“He should give us specific places where government was ashamed because of the former president and the reasons for the embarrassment,” argued Chanthunya.
“She didn’t have to scramble for international attention. The fact that she was actually invited to these meetings for the various roles she played showed that she is a global figure, she has actually been that for a very long time. The sooner government starts understanding that the better because they can then start concentrating on running government affairs than picking fights with a global icon,” added Chanthunya.
Apart from Banda, at the UN side meetings there were former prime ministers of Britain Gordon Brown and Tony Blair while the current Prime Minister David Cameron was also attending the UN General Assembly but there has been no political fuss in London.
This was the second time for Banda to attend international meetings with her predecessor after the US-Africa Summit in August this year.
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DON’T WORRY PETER SHE JUST DON’T GET IT THAT YOU BOOTED HER OUT OF THE OFFICE SHE IS STILL DREAMING …… HEY!! WAKE UP ….STOP DREAMING
Mama JB was right as it is constitutional,
Tremendous things here. I am very glad to see your post. Thank you so much and I’m having a look ahead to touch you.
Will you please drop me a e-mail?
DPP is full of cry babies!
George Bush, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Obasanjo, ( former presidents and vice president) attended the side meetings, nobody cried foul except the stupid DPP government. What is wrong with this picture?????? Tell us what you achieved and not this non-sense.
why 2much thinking about mama jb leave her alone she cant just dreem
hehehedeeeee! na inu a DPP boma ili muli surrender ndithu we are not even six moths into your and mwayamba kale loosing focus. By 100 days of JB she had atleaast something to show, fuel was normalised, availability of forex, return of donors etc but you thugs are already disoriented by now. kubera mavoti just to plumber gvt resources basi
Peter mutharika and chaponda are the ones who were an embarassment at the UN meeting because of their ugly faces. kikiki. anthu mamapanga nanu mseru
142 Pangani comment anzelu ngati mwasowa chochita kadzikarimani
Dpp and the suppoters are stupid and JB IS A GLOBAL figure even when you want to ask the civilised figures to the globe zinthu ngati izi simungaziwone ayi bwanji nsanje a DPP LEAVE HER ALONE agwire ntchito za chifundo kwa a Malawi ndi Africa yense. Ngati walakwa pitani ku Court akakuthandizeni