Malawi’s PP and UK’s Conservative party establish ties
Malawi’s governing People’s Party (PP) has established ties with UK’s Conservative party.
PP acting secretary general Paul Mauled told Nyasa Times in an interview from Manchester on Tuesday where he was attending Conservative party conference that President Joyce Banda’s led-PP is now enjoying a working relationship with Conservatives.
He said the two parties will be working like sisters or brothers.
Maulidi spoke highly of the Conservative party as the PP’s true friend and sincere cooperation partner.
“I was invited to come and represent the PP and to meet officials of Conservative party,” said Maulidi who was flanked by PP’s UK Wing chairman Hannington Gondwe.
He said apart from PP, the Conservatives invited to their annual conference secretary generals of seven major parties in Africa.
“It was a privilege to learn from them,” he said.
One of the delegates from Poplar Conservatives to this year’s party conference in Manchester, Augustine Chipungu who is a Malawian national told Nyasa Times that there are similarities between the cause of Conservative and Malawi’s PP.
“Looking at Joyce Banda and her People’s Party, it is difficult not to draw the parallels to Margaret Thatcher (former UK Prime Minister) and the UK Conservative Party. As President, she has deregulated the economy, allowed the local currency to freely float, and in so doing has injected certainty and stability to Malawi’s financial markets,” noted Chipungu.
He said President Banda has devalued the Kwacha currency which has encouraged business innovation and exports from Malawi.
“And almost as though she was echoing Margaret Thatcher’s 1981 Party Conference speech; ‘the Lady’s not for turning’, Joyce Banda has repeatedly stated that in spite of the temptation to reverse these policies for the sake of the upcoming elections, she will stay the course because she believes it to be right for her country,” he noted.
Chipungu who works at Westminster, said President Banda has fought for media freedom, repealing the infamous media regulation laws from the previous DPP regime, advanced freedom of speech and political association with the state broadcaster now airing the views of opposition politicians.
“Indeed, the partnership between the Conservative Party and the People’s Party is an obvious one, and we as Conservatives are proud to see set in stone. We look forward to enjoying the fruits of our labour together,” he said.
He explained that the Conservatives are a party whose cause in politics is to champion and advance freedom, and that it has done exactly this in the fields of economic, political and social life.
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