Kasakula ‘Hitting the nail’ in Malawi News: DPP does not care about the poor

The intention of the maize export ban that President Peter Mutharika and his government imposed in a year of bumper harvest was crystal clear for all to see.

It was to restrict the bumper harvest to the domestic market, so that its price should hit rock bottom.

Food or specifically maize is the main driver of inflation and so the great grand scheme of conspiracy was to reduce it to single digit though rock bottom maize prices because it was in abundance.

Mutharika then went about boasting that so much is being done to the economy, that now it is in shape and all is well for Malawians.

When this was achieved, the President duly lifted the export ban on Monday when he visited the redundant Admarc.

All along the President duped us, the lesser mortals, into believing that the maize export ban was necessary because allowing the export of maize willy-nilly would lead to food insecurity for Malawians—a caring leader.

Yet this is not the case, as we have learnt, much to our shock. On the contrary, this is about a clueless president and clueless government whose motive is to help its rich cabal of connected few get richer while keeping the poor poorer.

This is what the export ban and its lifting on Monday amount to and here is why.

After toiling for a whole year, farmers in the rural areas normally sell their produce between February and July.

Mutharika’s export ban has been in place since then until October Monday. What this means is that the market was restricted and farmers were indeed forced to sell their produce out of desperation at rock bottom prices to vendors and rich traders who kept it in their warehouses.

These must have popped Champagne and clicked glasses on Monday when they heard that their ‘God send’ president had lifted the export ban for they will now make a killing after their market has been expanded beyond borders to include starving neighbouring countries.

It is the poor farmers who have been left with tears and folded hands after seeing their sweat literally stolen by heartless vendors, aided by a government that has no time for the poor and does not think through its policies.

But this is not surprising. It is once again a manifestation of a pattern of behaviour by a clueless, heartless and non caring government in its total disregard of the welfare of the rural majority in this country.

That is why the DPP government does not give a hoot about the fact that the rural economy has utterly crumbled after the fall of tobacco, triggered by the world anti smoking lobby but made worse here by the bullying behaviour of tobacco buyers who do whatever they want, including being growers at the same time and there is no government that can check them through robust regulation.

Because of tobacco, the rural areas were vibrant in 1980s that rural illiterate folks were able to build proper houses and buy cars and could send their children to school.

All this is gone today and you could shed a tear looking at the high levels of poverty.

When they resort to growing other crops such as maize for food and sell the surplus, they have nowhere to take it to because greedy politicians in the multiparty era have crushed and ruined Admarc.

They cannot take it to neighbouring countries either because they have a government that only cares for inflation figures so they could wave them at IMF or World Bank and achieves it through export bans.

In the end they have no choice but to give it away almost free to marauding vendors who are mostly agents of their rich paymasters.

In case Peter Mutharika does not know, this is what his ban and clueless policies have done to the rural farmer.

He has been stripped bare of his dignity as a human being.

It is an effect of a misguided policy by a misguided government that does not know its left from its right.

This government has failed and done so miserably. They have lost every argument on any issue and voters can see through their pathetic lies in their false pronouncements.

Voters can see unfairness and injustice in its rule and no amount of desperate convincing to believe otherwise will work.

Why should the President, for example, claim that he does not practice nepotism when even two-year- olds know that it has been his modus operandi to look at district of origin or region before appointing someone to a government lucrative post?

Why should he only talk about his last four appointments when we all know he has filled all top crucial posts with people that hail from where he comes from?

Why can he not talk about his Cabinet and tell the nation whether it is representative of Malawi or not?

He is better saving his breath and not rant about arguments he knows he cannot win.

As a nation, we know we are damned and that our fate is sealed and delivered until 2019 when we will have another chance of correcting the mistake of 2014.

As for the poor rural folks, they are the forgotten lot and hold the hottest end of the rod.

I wish there was a politician who could go to them and promise that he will resuscitate the rural economy and through it give them back their dignity.

The present DPP government does not care about the plight of the poor.

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