Joyce Banda rejects ‘mbofyo mbofyo’ jab, talks decent housing: ‘I will save Malawi from DPP failures’

Former president  and  leader of People’s Party (PP), Joyce Banda  continue to address political campaign meetings seeking votes in 2019 presidential elections and has told people of Mzimba  that her programs that target the poor are the only recipe for social economic transformation of the country.

Before the rally,  Banda  visited the Mudzi Transformation Trust houses, Khosolo Cluster.

When the former leader took over government in 2012, she focused on five  key set priorities under the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), as a short term measure to address numerous social economic challenges that engulfed the country.

Infrastructure development, tourism, health, agriculture and food security energy and mining, as well as sustainable economic growth were some of the set key priorities.

She has always emphasized on the need for decent and affordable housing, hence the introduction of Mudzi Transformation Trust.

The governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) abolished the Mudzi Transformation Trust when it came to power in 2014  as it dubbed the houses as “mbyofo mbyofo” and replaced it with Decent and Affordable Housing (Cement and Malata) Subsidy Program.

The Malata subsidy is being implemented using tax payers money following parliament approval and is based on the principle of equity to ensure that 79 percent of the country’s population as revealed by the 2008 Housing and Population Census who live in grass thatched houses can have a decent house.

But Banda  disregarded the “mbofyo mbofyo”  tag, saying  a decent housing for people, provision of social amenities including portable water, equitable and accessible health and education service delivery as well as good sanitation services is key to the country’s social economic transformation.

She has constructed houses for the poor and the needy in a quest to bridge the gap that exist between the rich and the poor.

Banda has since challenged that she will continue with the program of helping the needy in provision of decent housing.

She told old friends she visited in Khonsolo that the heart to help the needy is in born and ought to be an attribute of any caring leader.

On agriculture, Banda said she will introduce universal farm input program and abolish h Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) currently being used by the President Peter Mutharika administration.

Banda  said the universal Farm Input Program  will help to address numerous challenges that have characterized the targeted FISP.

She said the current program has so many gaps that needs to be filled as it has only helped in creating hatred amongst people due to limited number of targeted beneficiaries.

On education, Banda said provision of quality services in education such as school blocks, teaching and learning materials, teachers houses, girls hostels, training of teachers and improvement of their social welfare is the only way that will help revive the dwindling education standards.

The PP leader said quota system would not be there if there is enough space to accommodate all in the government institutions of higher learning.

She has since called upon government to start using the withholding shelters that were constructed for use of pregnant women in some hospitals, but have not been functional since she left government.

Talking about economic transformation, Banda said potential investors would not be interested to invest in a country with no reliable energy generation.

She said the power outages the country is facing are only scaring away potential investors.

Banda said she has the key to turn around the tables in as far as power and energy generation is concerned.

She said blackouts would be water under the bridge if given an opportunity to rule the country again.

The former leader is expected to attend a dinner in her honour at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe before addressing a mass rally at Masintha ground.

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