Davies Katsonga set to form ‘Chipani Cha Pfuko’
Former cabinet minister Davies Chester Katsonga who last year dumped ruling DPP to join UDF, is set to form and register a new political party in Malawi, called “Chipani Cha Pfuko” (CCP), Nyasa Times can reveal.
Nyasa Times investigations indicate that Katsonga has already made inroads in central, southern and eastern regional and district structures ahead of the registration and formal announcement of the new party, which he intends to head and possibly lead during the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections.
On Saturday, UDF Regional Governor for the centre, Eckleni Kudontoni presided over constituency, district and regional committee members’ meeting at Salima Boma where over 300 people pledged allegiance to Katsonga. They included members of the four constituency committees in the district.
Kudontoni claimed that UDF committee members were “tired” of the continuous power struggle that had “engulfed” the party and that they wanted an alternative political block to “lean on”.
“Two or three weeks from now, you will hear what we have decided in terms of what political path we’ve decided to take. For the existing parties, we’re afraid, they have a lot of work to do to convince us why we should support them, especially when power struggle is the order of the day,” the former Regional Governor for UDF Central Region, Lake Shore, said.
Kudontoni claimed most of the problems rocking the UDF today stem from the fact that former UDF National Chairman and former Head of State Dr. Bakili Muluzi seems not to have a unifying formula where all warring elements in the party could come together and form a genuine united front to fight against the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of President Bingu wa Mutharika’s creeping autocracy.
In an interview with Nyasa Times on Sunday, Katsonga could neither confirm nor deny he was out of the UDF and was contemplating forming a new party.
However, Katsonga said he is not surprised to hear that there are people who think there must be a new political approach other than what is currently happening in the UDF if “indeed Malawians were to regain their lost democratic glory”.
“I’ve been approached if I could be willing to work with them; and I must say I am really willing to work with them because their reasons are valid. I am particularly happy with the bottom—up approach that has been displayed in all this equation; we need people inviting leaders to lead them in 2014 and not leaders forming parties and going about scouting for membership,” said Katsonga.
He said when he rejoined the UDF, he was “100 percent committed to play a role with his colleagues to find lasting solutions to problems afflicting the party”.
“But sooner, I found out that my attempts were being thwarted by the very same people that I believed would help me; I think it’s time to move ahead,” Katsonga said, without elaborating.
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