Mtumodzi calls for Goodall’s resignation: Ntata says Malawi is better with Prophet Bushiri as Finance Minister

Dziko FM radio owner and businessman Chikumbutso Mtumodzi has asked for Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe’s resignation citing current government’s failure to address financial and hunger crisis that the country is facing.

Addressing the media on Monday at Bridge View hotel where he held a news briefing with Z Allan Ntata on Reform to Transform, Mtumodzi said old age has caught up with Gondwe who holds a position that requires active and fresh minds that are flexible with latest trends in economy.

“Our dignity as men has been taken away because we cannot provide for our families due to the current economic crisis. Gondwe must resign,” said Mtumodzi, former  presidential press secretary of late president Bingu wa Mutharika.

“ We cannot mention who should replace him, we trust President  Peter Mutharika because he has enough resources required to appoint a capable and energetic individual for the post,” Mtumodzi stated.

Mtumodzi further pointed out that he had come out in the open because most Malawians are ignorant on what is really going on hence failure to question government to address crucial issues affecting the country.

“I have been quite on the political scene but am back with a Muammer Gaddafi style,” said Mtumodzi.

“ Am here to fight for my people who are queuing to buy Madeya at Kauma, am here to fight for vendors who are being chased in the streets. If it’s dying, we are going to die together,” Mtumodzi  declared in a no-holds-bared tonne.

“The country is a crisis right now. Reform to Transform is here to fight for a better Malawi that we were promised as kids. We have noticed that demonstrations do not work in this country.

“Civil society organizations and other individuals have tried demonstrating, presenting petitions to relevant authorities but what happens next? Petitions gather dust and authorities do not act. We are using a different approach, an approach that will involve engaging people on the ground,” he added.

In his remarks, Reform to Transform Organization co-founder Z Allan Ntata said Malawians need a Finance Minister that gives people hope and confidence and not somebody who says, “Our economy is in God’s hands”.

“If a Minister is saying Malawi’s economy is in God’s hands then I would recommend a prophet should be given the ministerial position because they are the ones who talk to God.

“ I ask the President to appoint Prophet Bushiri for example, because he will be able to communicate with God on the state of our economy,” he joked.

Ntata further emphasized that he has a good job therefore he is not looking for a top position in the current administration.

“I have a very good job, am only doing this for my family and friends who are here in Malawi. Our Reform to transform organization is here to force the current administration to become a listening and responsive government,” he explained.

Many concerned citizens said a younger finance minister would fix the economy.

Last week, text messages read out on Capital Radio blamed him for the country’s economic problems.

“He has outlived his professional life,” read one text message. It recalled his professional history which began with a post at the Reserve Bank in 1966.

“That man has seen many moons and he is not the same sharp young World Bank economist that he once was. The pressure may just be too much for him,” Nyasa Times editorial director, Thom Chiumia wrote in a’Loose Cannon’ column titled “Age of unreason reigns when everything is ‘falling’ in Malawi”.

Some, however, said the current economic hardships, such as the depreciation of the local kwacha, which currently stands at K725 against the US dollar, were not his fault, but a global problem.

Gondwe said he believed the weakening kwacha would stabilise in a week or two.

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