Malawi new ‘holy’ govt: Promise what you can do, and do what you promise

Most of us Malawians are good people. We in fact give every new government the benefit of doubt for that administration  to prove if they can serve our needs and interests.

What are those needs interests? We need to end poverty, create jobs and ensure that we have enough food.

By the way,  Malawi Congress Party (MCP) must admit that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government had a realistic way of promising poverty reduction, creating jobs and reducing hunger because immediate past president Peter Mutharika never promised us a heaven which he cannot manage.

There was a method in constructing community colleges to create skills in youth so that the youth must become self-dependent and get out of poverty.

There was also a method in starting the MEDF loans for the youth and women to have capital for their businesses in order to get them out of poverty. Thank heaven that MCP has seen the MEDF program started by DPP to be a good program that they want to expand it.

Peter Mutharika never promised lies to impress Malawians just for the sake of being popular. Mutharika was consistently modest enough to repeat over many times that “I promise what I do; and I do what I promise.”

The Lazarus Chakwera government promised universal fertilizer subsidy only to change tune and cut it down to 3.5 million people and only for 2 bags.

Chakwera also promised that they would raise the loans program started by DPP from K15 billion to K75 billion. Now  MCP has backtracked and pegged the loan at K40 billion.

The problem is that very soon the public will interpret these changes of tune as lies. It will be unfortunate for MCP to go down in the public mind as a government that governs on lies.

It is for the same reason that MCP leadership needs to caution its agents who are creating the new government image as a “holy government” while demonizing Peter Mutharika’s government.

The danger with painting oneself as a holy government is that the new leadership will immediately lose public trust as soon as it is caught committing its own sins.

The other problem is that slowly the public can see through the lies.

If you read the article on Nyasa Times  which praises  First Lady Monica Chakwera but demonizes former first lady Gertrude Mutharika, you can see that building an image of being “a holy government” by spreading lies about others is not a good strategy.

The article claims that Gertrude Mutharika’s Beautify Malawi Trust (BEAM) received billions of money which she never accounted for. However, Malawians are intelligent enough to remember that there was never a situation when anyone said BEAM has received billions which Gertrude Mutharika never accounted for.

This follows the claim that Mutharika used the imaginary billions to create businesses around the country. Malawians can easily know that these are lies.

My humble advice is simple: govern on truth and you will enjoy the support of Malawians.

“Promise what you can do; and do what you promise,” said the wise man.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :