Malawi govt blasts newspaper comment: Kaliati says Daily Times editorial ‘sensational’

Malawi government has ballistic on the country’s flagship newspaper, Daily Times for their editorial comment published on 13 May 2016 titled ‘’When Government Creates Poverty,’’ calling it sensational and misleading.

Kaliati: Blasts Daily Times newspaper
Kaliati: Blasts Daily Times newspaper

According to a statement issued by  Minister of Information Patricia Kalia  released on Friday, government said the paper fronts and stunts as chief sdvisor to government with reckless abandon to fact and detail.

Reads the statement in part: “The Comment advances the misleading view that Malawi governments, both previous and current, have not been doing anything to advance living standards of Malawians. As the writer fails to see changes that have taken place in the country, the article fallaciously concludes that Malawian leadership has been committed to ‘development and democracy in rhetoric only’.

“The Comment further adds that ‘In practice, it [leadership] has baffled and tortured the masses by being unpredictable, unprincipled, and obsessed with personal gain, leaving the bulk of the population in dire poverty. The Ministry would like to place these issues in the right perspective: that our brothers and sisters met a terrible and unforeseen tragedy in Mozambique is not in dispute.

“We do not understand why any Malawian would decide to climb on a hill and celebrate tragedy when we are mourning the loss of our fellow citizens, before they are even buried. Government thinks the writer of the Comment has crossed the marks of decency and respect. It has decided to trivialise the mourning Malawians.”

The statement further added that the comment was not only misplaced but outright insensitive and, actually an offence to Malawian moral beliefs. That Malawi is part of the global, cross border trade, movements and migration from time immemorial is foreign to the writer of the commentator of the tragedy, said the government spokesperson.

“It is unknown to the writer that people, as long as they live on this planet have to travel from country to country for various reasons. This is not limited to Malawi alone. We have many foreign nationals present in Malawi today seeking similar opportunities.

“It is therefore irresponsible for the writer to claim, under whatever guise, that when citizens go outside Malawi seeking opportunities is equivalent to Government failing its citizens. In case the writer is living on some other planet, we wish to remind them a few milestones the current administration of His Excellency Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika has introduced aimed at empowering its citizens,” it stated.

In the statement, Government pointed out Skills Development through Community Colleges, Infrastructure Development Programmes, introduction of new tertiary institutions, Trade and Investment Initiatives through events like the Malawi International Trade Forum, zero-aid budget among others as some of the citizen empowering initiatives introduced by Mutharika Government to change the lives of Malawians.

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vavlov
vavlov
7 years ago

Malawi should graduate from politics of appeasement, clapping hands for the leader, and being blind to economic development reality. Honestly having ministers of Kaliati’s calibre wont help this country.

Chimunthu
Chimunthu
7 years ago

Malawians are always looking to someone else for help be it a relative who is better off, the government, outside agencies, the former colonial government in the UK or whoever. ‘Mutithandize, chonde.’ When will they realise that development and progress can really only come from the grass roots, i.e. the people themselves. ‘God helps those who help themselves’ as the saying goes. After 52 years of independence the amount of development and progress in Malawi is virtually non-existent. The mass of people does not have access to running water, electricity, sanitary toilet facilities, paved roads, local health and ante and… Read more »

Ze Roberto
Ze Roberto
7 years ago

Whether we like it or not government is the ultimate decider on country’s destiny. If government seems to have no control of the affairs in the country that’s classic example of leadership failure. For example, if civil servants continue to be lazy, corrupt etc in offices, who else is better placed than government to put that to an end? Yes! citizens have the duty, at individual level, to improve their socioeconomic status but government has the huge responsibility to set and direct the national agent. For some of us here who try to posit a false notion that government deserves… Read more »

J. Banda Chago
J. Banda Chago
7 years ago

I don’t think the President is to blame for the current economic turmoil. Actually it’s a combination of several factors, natural and man-made. The man-made factors are not entirely the current President’s fault, we are aware why donors left…..cash gate. And again Government is supposed to do all it can to mitigate the negative effects of natural factors…. floods and dry spells. But such interventions require a lot of money which is not available in Government coffers. Let’s accept the situation we are in and work hard at individual level. Otherwise, we will continue complaining forever.

The Partriot
The Partriot
7 years ago

Since the advent of multiparty democracy Mrs Kaliati has been an MP, and a minister . No wonder she thinks Malawi government is doing well to advance the welfare of its people.Here is a former primary school teacher, who thanks to politics, can cart away 1500 liters of fuel per month, a million kwacha plus salary, a quarter of mllion kwacha house allowance, and many more benefits. All she has to do is to refute allegations and spin! There we go, this is development at its best!! But Mrs Kaliati and company(DPP leadership) should always remember, Malawians are not dull… Read more »

Zidura Ntengo Undigwere
Zidura Ntengo Undigwere
7 years ago

Malawians, almost always blaming the government of the day when given the opportunity of free speech. Try that during Kamuzu’s MCP dictatorship, and you would have been meat to the Nile crocks in the Shire. We want the government to do everything for us! This perhaps shows how insidious the beggar mentality so now entrenched in our culture is. Heed the well known JFK’s pronouncement: “Think not of what your country can do for you, rather what you can do for your country.” Ever heard of that, the author of that piece? A government lays out the broad framework in… Read more »

Nathan
7 years ago

Kikiki_kikiest! Ine chomwe ndikudziwa kuti Pitala ndi Disaster Progressive Party abweretsa muno mu Malawi ndi Njala ndi Umphawi! Bola Boma la a Tcheya, zikwama zinkazadza ndi ma 50 kwacha. A Daily times analemba zowona zenizeni. Nanga 0 aid budget ndi chitukuko? Anthu yitithandiza bwanji 0 aid budget? A Patricia, inuyo mukayera ndi miphodo basi mukuti mu Malawi muli chitukuko! Ngakhale ma Tractor oti azithandiza alimi, munagawana nokha! Inu ndinu zitsiru za anthu!

Nalipembezu
Nalipembezu
7 years ago

When the first president of this country (late Ngwazi Kamuzu) was alive, he would time and time again remind Malawians to be industrious.Dr Banda new that laziness was an enemy of development.But what do we see in many offices (government offices inclusive)? People doing nothing expecting development to fall down from heaven like mana.While it is true that our leaders have failed us,the citizens of this country also share part of the blame.In short, even if God was to send his most trusted angel to lead this country, as long as Malawians donot adopt the spirit of hard work, no… Read more »

chotsanibluepaint m'maso muone.
chotsanibluepaint m'maso muone.
7 years ago

Do not have your usual GRANDIOSE DELUSIONS here just swallow your PRIDE AND FACE the REALITY. Or it it another Millanko thieves aka DDP trademark of defending the….. The SAD reality is that Malawi is the POOREST NATION on the PLANET and its citizen are more poorer now than 20years ago COURTESY of a combination of YAO-LHOMWE ELITE THIEVES rule for 20yr plus. WHICH HAS CREATED and ENTRENCHED POVERTY. What is not surprising but RATHER very disheartening is that ENI EKEWO samaona koma KUDZIGOMELA ATI ALI NDI KUTHEKELA KOLAMULA. We eve see comments like “NGATI UKUYAKA WAUWISI”.Kungozipopa basi THOO! Abale… Read more »

Dumera
7 years ago

kaliyati you are no better than a bibrical jezebel. To hell with your dirty mouth…

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