Malawi youth pressure group bay for Chaponda’s blood

Youth for Positive Change (YPC), a grouping of Malawian young people is strongly calling for the ousting  of agriculture minister George Chaponda from cabinet for “gross mismanagement of government coffers.”

Chaponda: Under youth fire
Chaponda: Under youth fire

The group is not only howling for the ousting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) die-hard but also that that parliament should summon Chaponda so that he explains the missing billions of kwacha from the ministries of agriculture and foreign affairs – where he last served.

According to a statement seen by Nyasa Times, and co-signed by YPC chairperson Gerrard Nkhata, the group says they are “patriotic Malawians”  who simply want the best for the country.

According to them, in the last two previous portfolios Chaponda has served, he has proved to be a “bad manager.”

At the Ministry of Agriculture where millions of public funds vanished into thin air, Nyasa Times understands, an audit instituted by the Ministry’s principal secretary Erica Maganga revealed that the mismanagement of funds was orchestrated by 75 workers at the ministry’s headquarters.

The group says the cashgate, which denotes the systematic skimming of millions of dollars of money from government payment system, is something that Chaponda should have worked on “first thing” he got to the ministry.

“So far the Ministry of Agriculture has proved to be very prone to cashgate, and if we are not careful the Minister [Chaponda] will have it all looted. He might not be the one looting per se but he has failed us in the past and should not be trusted,” reads the statement in part.

According to YPC, what Chaponda is doing at the Ministry of Agriculture reflects exactly what happened during his time at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; where, again, he was involved in “another scandal during a trip to the United Nations General Assembly.”

Adds the statement: “The nation remembers that Capitol Hill told us they only took 20 people in an interview with The Nation which Chaponda confirmed despite being a lie. Why are we still keeping such a person? Why are we promoting him? What are the youth learning from this? What are we communicating to tax payers?”

During the tour Chaponda claimed the delegates had been paid for by various organisations, a thing that was also questioned by various quarters.

Eventually, investigations revealed that about 100 delegates attended the meeting.

“If people had voted for him, maybe they would have taken up the matter themselves but it is the MPs and the President that they voted for and these should do something,” the statement says.

For a trip outside Africa, we have learnt, daily allowance for the President is $500 (about K285 000). A Cabinet Minister gets $400 (about K228 000), principal secretaries pocket $300 (about K171 000) while any officer below the position of director gets $280 (about K159 000).

The figures amount to an average of $370 (about K220 000) per day per person and that means an estimate of K564 million for 121 people for 21 days.

Chaponda is reportedly being groomed to take over the mantle of the DPP leadership when incumbent Pres Peter Mutharika retires in 2024.

He hinted in an interview with Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) about two months ago.

And he has started meeting chiefs in the southern region to engage them in his bid to become next leader.

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Bob Minikwa
Bob Minikwa
7 years ago

Ma Youth opanda nsapato ndi pensulo. A Chaponda angopedzera kubedwa ku unduna wa Malimidwe. Za UN General Assembly mwaonetsa umbuli zedi- ku UN General Assembly kumapita nthumwi zosiyanasiyana za ku Malawi monga maiko ena. Kumakhala Presidenti ndi nthumwi zake, nthumwi za boma monga maunduna, kumakhala ma dipatimenti, kumakhala ma bungwe a boma, kumakhala ma kapane, kumakhala ma NGOs ndi ena. Onsewa, amalipira ndalama za ku maofesi ao, komanso mwina mabungwe akunja amathandidzirapo. Ndiye nkhani ili pati inu a Nkhata? Umbuli ndi nsanje yakula apa. Komanso imeneyi ndi nkhani ya ma Youth? Ndiye ndi inu ma Youth a imvi kale! Amene… Read more »

dee Walker
dee Walker
7 years ago

Dear Chaponda, Go Away. Choka!

Deguzman
Deguzman
7 years ago

Some fools are attacking High Time, saying he has hidden his ID. Can tell us whether you have revealed your ture IDs in your attacks. MCP never learns as it is said that Nkhata is a politician answering by tambla wakuda. . One goof after another. Never learns. Always reactive and not proactive. Very myopic in their attacks. They have tried strikes and demos but people have discovered that this is useless. They tried coup plot but it flopped. They tried using PP stooges but it has never worked. There are many intra-party problems in MCP but one Laza just… Read more »

chatola galu
7 years ago

High Time……Nkhata isnt a name but a surname note the different “atha kunkhala ambuyako mwina anagogodana ndi wa mtundu womwe ukudanawo chifukwa cha uhule wa ma tenant a chilomwe. wamva kaya galu iwe…..

Joseph Banda
Joseph Banda
7 years ago

KODI CHAMBA ETI? KUMASUTA BWINOTU. This story is trash and should not have been covered by the esteemed Nyasa Times. WHY WRITING CHILDISHLY? Hate Chaponda as much as you can but give us good materials to read. Umve polemba bwanji nkhani.

JJ
JJ
7 years ago

I was reading with interest to know this unknown grouping, YPC. But when I read that sentence which says that Gerrard Nkhata (MCP diehard member and loyalist) is the leader of that good for nothing grouping, I stopped reading. iHahahaha Malawian politics at its best. Gerrard Nkhata is a politician, how can then he be a leader of NGO? That’s MCP politics. Koma ziliko ku Malawiko hehehehehe. Pano mwati mudese CV yabwana Chaponda?

true patriot
true patriot
7 years ago

I am always encouraged when our youth contribute on national issues. There iz however, a general problem with our youth – they tend to be too much in a hurry and emotional! I’ve seen this in my many interactions with them. This youth organization’s reaction is a good example of emotional outbursts. I may not be a big fan of Chaponda (I actually think that he is pompous and arrogant) but the guy can not be held accountable for the mess that happened at ministry of agriculture – it Chiyembekeza who should answer for that. Interestingly, this group supposedly met… Read more »

Zilani
Zilani
7 years ago

Seriously, YPC has goofed here. You don’t have any tangible evidence that Chaponda looted or helped the loot to occur. Next time don’t attack personalities, learn to attack policies. I would support you if you complained about failure to enact ATI law. I would support you if you complained about APM gaining more powers than he promised. I would support you if you complained that the K577bn cashgate is being delayed deliberately. I would support you if you complained that sale of MSB resulted into untold suffering of many employees now retrenched without remorse. These are all actions that emanated… Read more »

Alfred
Alfred
7 years ago

Nkhani iri apa ndi yakuti anganya amenewa a YPC are playing a propaganda thinking Chaponda is to take over the presidency in 2024….siza mismanagement akunena panozi ayi….nde yalakwatu! kayambeninso kawiri, AGALU inu!!!!!

Chamwini Kwawo
Chamwini Kwawo
7 years ago

Chaponda can not take over from Peter in 2024. Chaponda is said to have been born in 1942, and in 2024, he will be 82 or there about and positioning himself for that post is waste of time and unintelligent thinking.

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