Give Mutharika scorecard not on accomplishments but strategies – Malawi historian DD Phiri

January 8, 2015 Yankho Msukwa - Nyasa Times 67 Comments

Renowned historian and author, Desmond Dudwa Phiri, widely known as DD Phiri, has advised Malawians to judge President Peter Mutharika not on the basis of accomplishments, but strategies he has put in place for ringing the economic and social changes in the country.

DD Phiri
DD Phiri

According to him, six months that Mutharika has been in the office is not long enough to expect wonders from him.

“When a person takes up a job for the first time he or she displays inexperience. Early days are like Shakespeare’s salad days, days of youthful inexperience.

“We should, therefore, judge the President not on the basis of accomplishments but strategies he has put in place to bring about economic and social changes,” said Phiri.

Phiri therefore hailed Mutharika for setting up a Civil Service Reform Committee, observing that the President has been dissatisfied with the “extant modus operandi to do things differently”.

He however recalled that at the beginning of the multiparty era there was a ‘Chatsika Commission’ which made recommendations, but there was no follow up action after the Commission’s report was published.

“Let us hope the recommendations to be made by this Commission will be implemented in full. Where they are found not worthwhile, the public should be informed. The Commission’s recommendations should not gather dust in shelves.

“Whether the President accomplishes wonders during the next four years and a half will not depend on his abilities alone but also on the type of people he will be working with. And I do not mean just ministers and civil servants but the whole nation,” he explained.

MCCCI criticism

Meanwhile, the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) slammed government’s idea to harmonize public officers’ wages, warning that some of Commission’s recommendations are a recipe for disaster.

MCCCI Chief Executive Officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira torn apart the recommendations at a consultative meeting between the Vice President Saulos Chilima led Public Service Reforms Commission and the private sector’s members  in Blantyre Tuesday.

“The proposed harmonization of public service commissions into one, and the consequent harmonization of wages, is a recipe for disaster and an exercise in futility.

“Different economic activities generate varying economic values,” said Kaferapanjira.

He also slammed the idea to have some public positions such as that of the Army Commander and Police Inspector General follow the Presidential five year tenure, saying that would create uncertainty to those holding the positions and public including the business community.

“The private sector finds this recommendation to be a blatant legitimization of political interface and influence, which the Commission is supposed to reverse.

“Apart from the Attorney General which is a highly politically charged position, the rest of the positions are professional positions meant to serve the interests of all Malawians regardless of their political inclinations. As such,    the private sector is vehemently against this recommendation and wants these positions to remain outside political influence,” he asserted.

Kaferapanjira, however, said that if salaries are “terribly low” in the mainstream civil service government should raise them, but not at the cost of other public officers.

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67 replies on “Give Mutharika scorecard not on accomplishments but strategies – Malawi historian DD Phiri”

  3. Ths oldman is tired must retir. Otherwise he wl mislead malawians frm the truth of current affairs. Be honesty oldman myb u nid favours in cash. No sense in ur voice

  5. I used to respect Desmond Dudwa Phiri as an avid historian and an astute economist. Alas, he seems to have swallowed the blue scones and buns, just like the chiefs. Ma strategies mkuluyu anayenera kuwapanga articulate nthawi ya kampeni ija, osati panopa. This is a time for action. As various commentators have put it we were able to see ntchito za manja a JB within 100 days of her tenure.

  6. Phiri and the chieves should not comment in anything that is happening in Malawi today because there are not in the same line of the world. The world thinking is different the way it was during the youth time of DD Phiri and the Chieves.

  7. enanu munakongolora ndalama kuthandiza zipani zanu zoluza zija ,ndiye mmene mukubweza zalama pomwe muli kunja kwa boma mtima ukupweteka ndiye mungosusa zili zonse ,Mdala walakwa chani kuti mumusambwaze conchi,wanena zowona mdalayu

  9. Surely, Mr DD Hill is old. How come your president did not another Commission on tribalism in Malawi? You and your president need to put on list of mental patients before its too late.

  10. Madala, you have outlived your usefulness and your thinking does not fit modern times.Unfortunately you have decided to remain static with old ideas and history.Find your age mate to share such thinking and not the youth of today who are unfortunately in majority!!!!!and the world and economics are changing fast!!!!

  11. Please borrow a leaf from Mr George Jaffu on Civil Service reforms.
    He was on Capital Radio. The problem is that DD has no foresight.
    He does not realize that time once wasted can never be recovered.

    Citizen

  13. Education did not help this grand pa at all. He still lives a medieval life style thats why he is saying all this. Times have chanfed old guard,

  15. I totally disagree with Mr. DD Phiri. Look, JB changed things in within 30 days, wow!! In within that 30 days we started seeing forex, queues for fuel started disappearing and the donors returned. She did all this in parallel while formulating long and short term strategies to bringing back the economy which was almost at a collapsed stage.

    But the Prof is 7 months in power, what has he done?

  16. I agree with Iike. D.D. Phiri’s ideas have become irrelevant today or maybe his comment is premature. What has bn put in place by this government that sounds plausible/workable? Forming a government that is full of 1 group of people(tribalistic, nepotistic etc)-a recipe for problems.in other countries this wud have caused a civil war. Civil service reform when the majority affected negetively by it r people from other regions not te President’s. When u ask Malawians to contribute on ur reforms when in the actual fact u r already implimenting them. When u have dozens of issues that affect Malawians and what the president doing is behave as everything is normal. D.D. Dont erase ur credibility at the last minute of ur life.

  18. The Phiri guy is old as a historian. This history is not of 1958 or 1964 where Kamuzu was a great leader. Things are changing faster than before. The Phiri guy is an old crone, the wind has changed, talk less! You are old, you are loosing your integrity.

  22. It makes sense for the wise despite of our political interest. The problem most malawians have is that we need a quick change and good things for our interest. DD Phiri continue scholing us with those good ideas.

  23. O’ DD ur thought has become irrelevant for the 21st century, u are still using 19the and 20the century paradigms. The past should be used to explain the present in a way that is relevant to present practices. Kapumeni, kadyeni retirement ngati muli nayo.

  24. A Kaferapanjira, pajatu you heavily financed campaign ya Kongelesi and we never voted them into government. You are just a pitifully bitter lad, not surprisingly so

  27. Iwe chimudala vuma wasakara nzakoyo wakhala kunja zaka 40 njhona kulikonse amakhala opanda nzeru tizunzika amalawi kuphatikiza ndi alomwe anzake

  28. president asanathe or chaka mwayamba kale kutokota zambiri, mukuganiza kut dziko losauka ngat malawi akakweza masalaries choncho ,boma likhala ndi kathu? musiyen peter akhale @least 3 yrs then muyambe kukamba zopusa zanuzo. simmakonda dziko labu amalawi, mukuona ngati kuyendetsa dziko ndimasewera et. dziko lakeso lomayendera zero deficit budget, heeee, amalawi ndinu wovetsa chisoni zedi

  29. Very logical arguement Bwana Kaferapanjira, especially the bit on harmoniasation that ‘different economic activities generate varying economic values’. For example,although both being ministers, that of Sports cannot be the same seniority as that of finance.

  31. Malawians as usual kudandaula basi…u think president ndiye wothesa mabvuto anu inu nkumangodyerera…there is no sweet without sweat. Kungokhala phwiiii zonse zizingobwera milira mutopa. Kudalira kupempha basi…anzanu akuyesesa kupangisa zinthu ziyende koma kuwatukwana kokhakokha kawaitaneni azunguwotu. Inu mumayesa after six month zonse zingoti myaaa mabvuto onsewa angathe tsiku.limodzi???Misala chani???

  32. My fellow malawians, i think its high time we usually point fingers to our leaders. Lets vote for a probationary period for presidents elected. “No perfomance no leadership”.

  33. I have had 3 main jobs in my life, two of those were outside Malawi but each one of the jobs i had, i was required to perform and my sixth month review determined whether they were going to keep me or not

  34. No wonder can you reduce the size of the glasses may be you will see or the eyes are too big to see?Ben told us that H.E is busy cooking,may be there is no fire wood,,had it been he is using an electric stove we would have our lunch by now

  35. Be ware of historians who suit every government regime. DD survived with Kamuzu (for twisted history) and was a co-author with Muluzi of a book on democracy and never criticized tyranny and corruption. I have my on reservations. But continue writing if only you can rewrite everything you said about Kamuzu.

  36. Real talk from DD Phiri.

    Now on a new administration chosing its own team in various sectors to work with, this happens all over the world and for very good reason. Even in America where they have much more experience in democracy and governance, a new administration picks its own AG, and choses heads of security and other bodies which it feels have the same ideology as themselves. Whether they are conservative, progressive, liberal etc… It is only simpletons and nations who are clearly not sophisticated enough who would think that everybody in a particular office will behave the same because of their office regardless of political or ideological affilliations.

    People should also not fear being removed from particular offices, they have enough experience to effectively move into other roles in the public sector, civil society, think tanks, academics etc… both local and international! This habit of wanting to cling on to offices for life and run to the courts everytime someone asks you to pave way for someone else is a sign of intellectual bankruptcy lack of self confidence in one’s own skills.

  37. My name is Kadakwiza, and I respect Mr DD Phiri. At the same time I would like to remind Mr DD Phiri that DPP have a manifesto, so these guys they don’t need any advice or strategies from anyone. They have got policies. So Malawians are waiting as Mr Ben Phiri told Malawians that the President is in the kitchen preparing a buffet. The nation is waiting including you Mr. DD Phiri. The question is for how long should the nation wait. People are tired of waiting because they need jobs, drugs in hospitals, commodities are expensive. We love our President and we are here to support him, but the problem we are hungry Mr. DD Phiri. So Mr DD Phiri give us solution how to have jobs, food and drugs in hospitals. So that we can stop protesting on 13 Jan,2015. Good luck Mr DD Phiri.

  41. It makes me laugh when I hear some saying JB managed to change things within a few months.my question is ,what did she change exactly?look at our country we are as poor as ever if not even worse.when you saw fuel coming you thought that was because of her efforts? Mavuto tilinao kkķķķkķķkkkk

  43. it took JB days to end fuel and forex problems in 2012, now we are talkings of months, am sure you’ve writen alot and now there is nothing left in your head grandpa. you and Peter should just go home and play with your grandchildren.

  45. Zopanda nzeru izi. Akanakhala kuti wapangapo zanzeru bwezi kuli ma demo pa 13 pa? Ngati mwakalamba, its understandable, tangokhalani chete apa. NACGATE ndi reform? Ma strike onsewa adza kamba ka reform? Mankhwala nzipatalamu ali pa economic reform? Za ziii!

  47. Foolish DD Phiri, how much are you being paid. Judas Iscariot ic this generation. Dont forget JB sorted bigger problems within a month without insulting Malawians.

  50. ‘Salad days’? What the heck? The guys were in government not last century. They told us they would continue from where Bingu left. D.D. don’t sell your credentials so cheap, we love your wisdom and experience men.

  53. kulankhula kopanda nzerutu kumeneko nkhalamba iwe, we should not expect wonders in 6 months? pa 6 months yomweyo bwanji we’v already experienced the bitterness,magetsi ayambaso kuzimazima,NAC issue,insecurity, kuba ndiumbanda and many more zosezi bwanji zatheka pa 6 months-yo,mukamalankhula muziganiza kaye.

  54. A very useless recommendation by DD Phiri. We want are accomplishments starting with short tem accomplishments and not strategies. I again repeat my observation that the public reforms being put forward by a commission whose members never worked in the public service are likely to weaken the public service. If there is an institution that must be dealt with carefully it is the public service.

  56. The Reform Commission should have included people from all arms of government including the legislature and judiciary osati Mai S White and sundry.

    Chilungamo kuwawa!!!!!!

  57. In 6 months Mutharika has achieved nothing, nothing, nothing. But look at Joyce Banda in 1 months she put the economy back on track, donors restored aid, fuel was in abundance and much more was accomplished. So DD Phiri please do not fool us, if you wish to remain respected. This thief Mutharika cannot accomplish anything. Forget it. Mutharika must be impeached finite! Out with Mutharika.

  58. DD Phiri nawenso watani mdala wathu kodi? Iwe ungokhala pheee! Pa 6 months yomweyo aba ndalama za NAC nkukachitira musonkhano wa Mulakho wa Ahlomwe komanso BEAM. Are these not accomplishments we ought to judge Muthalika for?

  59. Elsewhere newly elected President s often present a 100 day action plan so what are you talking about old man? When a President decides to use Chiefs to fight his battles its a sign of failure. Remember Bakili and his Third Term bid Bingu and his No to devaluation stance. Now chiefs have been drafted for the battle on strikes. Is this not a shame?

  61. That’s the talking of an old man who z intelligent DD Phiri I salute you, ,& bkoz Nyasa z owez -ve

  63. wawona ngati akudyetsera DD Phiri eti wagwa nayo tabayenda wapansi dairy basi osati ulowerele ndale

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