Malawi govt rejects ‘sleepwalking’ into economic turmoil: Jappie says Mutharika in control

Minister of Information, Tourism and Civic Education Jappie Mhango had rejected claims by opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) that the country is sleepwalking into a failed state under the leadership of President Peter Mutharika.

Mhango, who is the official government spokesperson, said Mutharika is in control of the situation in the country and soon there will be economic growth .

MCP during a news conference held in Lilongwe accused Mutharika of sleepwalking in power while the country is facing huge challenges.

Party lawmakers o listed a litany of issues which the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has lost control of, among them taking a large delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the time the country is facing a food deficit and has appealed for humanitarian assistance.

MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwila said Malawi deserve a leader who is “visionary”, saying Mutharika is sleepwalking on job.

Kabwila pointed out that Malawi is facing economic crisis but the Mutharika administration are poverty deniers and the President “does not know what he is doing.”

The MCP spokeswoman cited the recent hiking of secondary school and tertiary education fees in public schools as well as the abolition of the Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) examinations as part of reforms of the parastatal, Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) as announced by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST).

Kabwila further described the fee hike as atrocious and a slap in the face of the poor as education will now be the preserve of the elite.

Malawi government should have abolished the subsidy on iron sheets and cement and invest the resources in education so that the poor should also have the same privileges as the rich, argued Kabwila.

However, government spokesman trashed the MCP comments, saying they are out of frustration after losing the May 20, 2014 Tripartite]elections.

Mhango said Mutharika is not sleepwalking but in total control “ and he has great plans for this control.”