Multi billionaire Mutharika displays ‘golden’ opulence

President Peter Mutharika in not just in the bracket of the country’s multi billionaires according to his declared wealth but his is also flaunting his opulence as he used a gold-spray painted wheelbarrow and shovel when kick-started construction of Njakwa-Livingstonia-Chitimba Road on Saturday in Rumphi.

During a groundbreaking ceremony at Mhuju, Rumphi, Mutharika who declared that he had had a number of bank accounts both within and outside Malawi containing close to 4 billion Malawi kwacha (roughly $10 million) in cash, used the opulent gold wheel barrow and shovel together with the First Lady.

The President’s brief case carried by aide-de camp was a vintage Louis Vuitto – an opulent status-symbol.

Meanwhile, critics have observed that Mutharika hopes of doing things differently on frequent criss-crossing the country, he is actually doing the same and defeating the austerity spirit.

Mutharika pledged during campaign last year that he will not be like former president Joyce Banda’s (JB) on unwanted frequent presidential travels.

However, President Mutharika has since January made 11 trips – an average of a function per week—the President has attended is worth his presence.

He led centenary commemoration of freedom fighter the Reverend John Chilembwe in Chiradzulu on January 17, visited flood victims in some parts of the country on January 19, opened the 60 kilometre John Chilembwe Highway that runs between Blantyre and Zomba on January 24 and left the country for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend to African Union Summit on January 28.

Mutharika launched the Public Service Reforms Programme in Lilongwe on February 11, presided over a pass-out parade of prison recruits and the award of medals to officers in Blantyre on February 21, toured Limbe central business district to revive the ‘Operation Red Star’ campaign introduced in the mid-1990s to demolish substandard and archaic buildings in the country’s major cities and towns on 23 February and launched a He4She Campaign at Parliament grounds in Lilongwe on 26 February.

He led the commemoration of the second anniversary of his arrest on treason charges in March 2013 on March 11, launched the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources on March 12 and launched Community Technical Colleges Programme at Ngara Community Technical College in Karonga on March 20.