Dzuka Malawi: We need Kamuzuism, abit of Magufuli and Binguism to save nation

His Excellency the Life President Ngwazi Dr. H Kamuzu Banda, DOF, Mchikumbe Number 1, Nkhoswe ya Mayi Number 1, Mkango wa Malawi, Messiah , Alidzi etc etc, had one thing I liked, decisiveness and making sure everyone was alert on what he need to be done. At a rally in Mzimba in 1983, a Cabinet Minister, apparently a Tonga (no hate for my smart brothers from the Lake including Ada Banda Lucky in the USA, Ada Kasambala Ralph at Zomba and Ada Kaunda Vuwa at State House), wore a white suit. When the Minister went to give instructions to Youth League guys and was coming back, The Ngwazi noticed and asked Regional Chairman “who is that musician.” Knowing exactly what the Ngwazi meant, quickly, the Regional Chairman rushed and instructed the “Singer” to disappear and dress appropriately for the podium.

How many of our politicians do we even know, if they even know, what they mean from what comes from their mouths, principles and characters? How we have lost touch to being statesmen to competing with criminals and crooks for the position of “state-conmen” of course to be gender sensitive “conwomen” too.

From the art of statecraft to art of “state-concraft” invented in Malawi. See a conman on Facebook posing with politicians every day. Some put on dark glasses like Jamaican mafia. Everyone for himself and God for the rich and powerful is what our society has become.

This week I found myself at a podium with national cartoons we see on MBC TV. I was honoured to be seated behind many of those we term to be “Honourable.”  One Minister was asking his friend, “kodi chimanga ukanali nachobe, undisungile 400 bags ayise ndikagawe kwathu month end zikavutisisa,” I don’t remember the response, but I was shocked beyond comprehension by the conversation by Ministers, freely discussing maize hoarding. Either when you are in power, you become so blind to reality or surely gluttony just makes one arrogant to everybody’s pain.

I remembered Kamuzu the genuine Ngwazi, the Ngwazi Bingu and the new kid at Taifa State House John Pombe Magufuli.

You see, with Cashgate, Kamuzu the genuine Ngwazi, despite that he himself was the richest with money from our “gifts”, he could have summoned Parliament, enacted a law and moved in swiftly to arrest all those mentioned or suspected to look like to have grown bellies with cashgate money.

Some would have ended up “meat for crocodiles” while many could have been forgotten in Penu, Mikuyu, Ndzaleka and Zomba prisons. This nonsense of dramatizing cases where thieves are proclaiming innocence and blaming “someone” who sent me could have not happened.

If we need to save Malawi today, let’s do a bit of Kamuzu. Let Parliament convene and enact a law that make all cashgate proceeds state property. You see Kamuzu did everything legally. For miniskirts he had indecency Act, for writers he had something like Seditious Act and for confiscating your property he had “Forfieture Act.” The old Kamuzu never did anything illegal, he followed the laws he enacted.

So I dare Malawi Congress Party whose figures have presented as transformational leaders, I dare the Democratic Progressive Party which claims to be leading a Government to restore “integrity, hardwork and patriotism” , I dare the United Democratic Front and its Agenda for Change philosophy and I dare the Peoples Party which proclaims its innocence over cashgate. Lets do a practical service to Malawi.

Convene Parliament to enact a law to confiscate all cashgate related accounts and properties, imposes 5 year sentence to anybody whose account and signature received cashgate proceeds and finally ban from politics or any public position anybody related to cashgate. The matter will end the same day the bill passes, then we move on.

2013 to 2016 we are losing millions if not billions paying lawyers to do a circus in court. No justice will come out for those that died due to lack of drugs or those that failed to get treatment at hospitals. Let’s do a Kamuzu.

Any political party or parliamentary seat whose campaign was greased by cashgate proceeds should be banned from politics, seats declared vacant and bye-elections conducted. Very simple, we will only have clean politicians and everybody will stop looting and using it in elections.

After the Kamuzu way of ending cashgate, let’s do a  Magufuli  Hapakazi slogan for every public service sector and even private sectors. Bosses or top henchmen in all institutions should earn dependent on how they work, not the titles. Many Malawian bosses are presiding over collapsing companies, departments and ministries.

Principal Secretaries still are flying, some zig zagging in the air, when their departments are almost closed for lack of finances. Companies can’t even pay dividends while bosses are claiming bonuses for nothing, literally bonus for losses. Onl  in Malawi.

Now for a Magufuli, three things, all Government printing should be done by Government printers and the supplies for stationery the same. PVHO should be Government garage and most of the services should be applied online. This is part of the easiest reforms that can be ordered in a day.

Here is the real Magufuli way, cut Presidential convoy to four, one Police escort, one presidential, one back up and bodyguards. Stop lining poor Policemen and women in streets for hours, they don’t serve any purpose. If Obama did that he would have been singing “Hallelujah” somewhere. Stop this security comedy.

The fifth vehicle can be motorhome. For traffic clearance have five motorbike riders, they will rush and block a road or junction as the convoy is three to five minutes away and overtake it for the next road. Stop the one hour plus stops which serves nobody anything, if it’s the prestige of the office it is drowned in insults and hisses of pissed motorists stuck for hours end when the Police close roads.

The Presidential vehicles should be a Mercedes Benz and a 4X4 VX back up. That’s enough.

Then for Cabinet Ministers sale their useless TX’s, let’s do with brand new  Toyota Camrys. These are cheap to maintain and can survive any road. If they want 4×4 to get to constituency let them buy theirs from their duty free cars allocation and free loans they don’t pay back.

PSs let them drive Toyota Avensis, the same with senior officials have a corolla. Four cars per department’s ideally one minibus, two corollas and a 4X4 should be at the pool. Removing the obsolete and large number of vehicles in civil service I am sure can cut operational costs by 30 to 40 percent. OS’s spend all their times in garages making deals to milk Government. I have been an OS in six Ministries and I know the trade.

Magufuli says, “This is a public service not a gravy train. Anybody who came here to make riches should quit and join the private sector. All ministers and senior statehouse officials are here to work not to seek obscene opulence.”

Finally, in trying to save Malawi we need some Binguism in our blood. Believing that Malawi is not poor but ourselves. We have poverty of mind, people who don’t want to work but to receive free things. Friends  who survive on begging. People  who specialize in insulting the President while failing to transform their own homes and supporting their own families but drinking every day. Urbanites who plan cashgate and disco night outs every day. Yes that’s what we are today, every one of us full of excuses and no one taking personal responsibility.

Bingu would do what others can’t do. Subsidies and make sure the fertilizer reach poor not Indians getting rich out of it. Dream in colour and tell a Whiteman off. His daring dream and spirit is reflected in MUST, Hotel in Lilongwe, Parliament and even roads for Chitipa and Ntchisi. I don’t believe the stadium when we can’t win any sport was a wise investment for USD90 million. It’s a misplaced loan, a blue elephant!

Now if we want to save Malawi we will do what Kamuzu did. Enact laws like Access to Information, Declarations of Assets, Political Parties Act and Constitutional reform and then shoot all cashgators or lock them without trial confiscate their properties. Then we will make sure public service is a service not a gravy train as Magufuli would say and finish with the Bingu train. Combine the three recipes, Malawi will be the African Taiwan, Singapore or Switzerland in ten years.

But no, Hunger, Disease, Envy, Gossip, unambitious, thieves, witch hunters, witch killers, gay advocates and haters, thieving prophets, albino killers, court destroyers, baby manufacturers, cartoon politicians, rude Ministers and mob-justice deliverers we are. I cry for my motherland!

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :

Sharing is caring!