Covid-19 affects implementation of Tonse campaign promises

There are growing fears that President Lazarus Chakwera and his Tonse alliance administration might fail to implement some of its campaign promises due to Covid-19.

One of the key campaign promises include the creation of one million jobs.

George Phiri, a political expert with Livingstonia University said the upsurge in new infections and deaths over the last few weeks will make it difficult for the Chakwera administration to fulfil some of its promises.

Phiri says with the Covid-19 situation, government will in the long run find it hard to fulfil promises as tax revenue is likely to drop due to policies such as the K100,000 tax free band.

He has challenged government to prioritize initiatives that will enhance peoples livelihoods in times of Covid-19 pandemic if it is going to maintain public trust.

In a televised address on Sunday, President Chakwera said Malawians should accept that the scale of the pandemic demands a change of priorities.

“This is important to say because there are some who are still obsessed with politics, some who are still obsessed with cabinet appointments and reshuffles, and some who are still obsessed with campaign promises that were made on assumptions and in conditions that no longer hold.

“When a ship is at sea and it comes across unexpected rapids and is hit by an expected storm, only a foolish captain would insist on maintaining the same course,” said Chakwera.

The Malawi leader  – who last week lost two Cabinet ministers in a space  of a day to the virus – said “selfish and  careless behaviour”  fuelling the  pandemic at individual and communal levels must stop.