Mutharika spin doctors, advisers making Malawi leader look like ‘incompetent buffoon and a joke’ – Commentators
Newspaper columnists and commentators have argued that President Peter Mutharika team of advisers and public relations are “sleeping on the job” because for about two years Mutharika and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have become so infamous for one scandal after another.
Columnist Albert Sharra states that the ‘mismanagement’ of information about the President’s illness at United Nations General Assembly (Unga) in 2016 resulted in rumours spreading all over the globe that ‘our dear leader was dead’.
“Then came power blackouts, Maizegate followed before Hurricane Callista struck, to add salt to injury, [Saulos] Chilima left DPP. The party was also fingered in Escom procurement mess and got K145 million as a share of the spoils from the Malawi Police Service ration food deal, just to mention some of the prominent scandals between 2016 and 2018,” writes Sharra in the Weekend Nation newspaper.
According to Sharra, the team that is supposed to manage the President’s image—and that of the party has only worsened the situation with inaction.
“Observably, this situation if not handled well ahead of 2019 Tripartite Elections, will push away people who would have voted for APM (Mutharika.”
“What is coming out clear from all this, is that the so-called old boys the former First Lady Callista Mutharika recently called ‘vultures’ are the ones who continue to feed the president lies that he is on the right path and that the country has developed beyond recognition. They are the ones claiming that they are managing the situation, just well.
“But the President must hear this. Word on the street is that if APM (Mutharika) does not put his brains to work these so-called old boys surrounding him will cost him an election. In fact, word is that it is the actions of the old boys—who have been holding press conferences lately and other greedy souls in the party—that led to the breakaway formation of the United Transformation Movement (UTM) that is giving DPP sleepless nights today,” writes Sharra.
The columnists state the people are tempted to believe what the former First Lady also said, that “APM is a good man”, but the people around him are toying with him due to his old age.
“A week ago, Vice-President Saulos Chilima also hinted on the same in an interview with [Zodiak] that the people around the president are behind the bad relationship between Mutharika and him,” he added.
A fierce social and political commentator Idriss Ali Nassah writing on his Facebook page argued that someone is running a flawed strategy with President Mutharika.
“Given the president’s advanced age and obvious limitations, he is only as good as the people around him, the advice he gets and the information he is given to process. Our president is no dummy but his handlers are increasingly making him look like an incompetent buffoon, and a joke,” Nassah wrote.
Nassah faulted the spin doctors for letting Mutharika speak on State controlled MBC TV on ‘Talk to the President’ interview programme “ without solid talking points,” at a time when he is on the back foot and facing relentless onslaught from Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s let United Transformation Movement (UTM).
“The whole interview had the feeling of something done out of anger and frustration at seeing SKC (Chilima) hog all the limelight and dominate the national political discourse. But that is a flawed strategy and someone is taking a gamble with the president,” Nassah wrote.
He noted that, instead of reassuring the nation, the Malawi leader looked “irritated, exhausted and uneasy.”
“His robotic appearance did nothing to convince people that he is going to be the main man to lead Malawi to new prosperity. The constant pressure of running a country and fighting off Chilima must be taking its toll. Whilst you could argue that he is reaping the harvest from the seeds he sowed by being a disinterested, absentee, out-of-touch, not-in – control, president, I felt some sympathy for a man who is so obviously on the ropes.
“I really had high hopes at the beginning of his presidency, so it is painful for me to watch him fade into oblivion like this,” he wrote.
Another commentator Lyson Sibade writing his column on Nyasa Times on Saturday argued that the way DPP administration has behaved in recent times, President Mutharika is surrounded by “incompetent” advisers who are feeding the administration and party with poor advice which have resulted in very embarrassing actions and decisions by the party and the administration.
“For example, some statements that the President made during the ‘Talk to the President’ interview on Thursday evening about signatories and Inde Bank, or the decision to return the MK145 million, or the decision to give some youths subsidized beer or hold parallel rallies against UTM in Mzuzu and several other incidences show that DPP is lacking competent advisers who can make and not break the President and DPP administration,” wrote Sibande.
“When advisers give the President wrong advice, it is called betrayal because the President acts on the advice out of trust in the advisers. Therefore, when mistakes are made like what we have noticed recently in the DPP administration, the President must remedy betrayal by firing some of his advisers that work in official capacity or distance himself from some people that give him advice in unofficial capacity. He must then choose a new team of advisers and friends to surround him especially at this crucial moment when the 2019 Tripartite Elections were already unofficially launched,” he argued.
Malawians next go to the polls in May 2019 to elect the president, parliament and ward councillors.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
#Cartoon Network Incorporated
Nanga mbava ina ija amati Santana yongolandira ntchito za ulere zosachitira interview iri kuti, yangoti zii waona kuti kunjaku kwachita mikhwithi. Akudziwiratu kuti ena akalowa m’bwalo wake ndi ulova. Kuzolowera kukolola pomwe asanalime.
I should admit that UTM nayo yayakuzizira…and many thieves hidding here.
Analysts may be wrongly blaming advisors/ those close to APM. But what is his truck record?
APM has never worked in a corporate world. He was just a lecturer of a not so-highly ranked college in US. Which scientific articles has he written? Which personal business was he running before coming to Malawi? Note that even most highly trained architecturer but purely academic cannot design a building.
So, stop making assumptions. Even when he was minister in his brother’s cabinet he failed miserably. Academic saga is just one example. He is always reactionary to situations, NOT in control at ALL.
SHAME!!!
Whatever you say,Peter is an ignoramus.I can now comprehend what Masauko Chipembere used to tell me about Peter Muthalika at his home in Dar es salaam,Tanzania.The youngmen he recommended to take leadership after the Ex-Ministers retire or something naturally happened were,Prof.Thandika Mkandawire and Prof.Attati Mphakati.Prof.Mphakati,was brutally murdered in Harare,Zimbabwe some 20 years ago,by Banda’s soldier henchman Liyabunya.Malawians are now learning the hard-way of electing their tribesmen.In fact,they could have learnt a bitter lesson when they elected Bingu Muthalika,the man they had never seen before,provided he was said to be a Lomwe.The both Muthalikas,came into Malawi,to steal whatever their hands could find.We have seen what Bingu did and we are now seeing what Mathanyula is doing.If we Malawians,are not going to learn our lessons,we are going to be ruled by people like Peter Muthalika,SHAME!!!!!!!! We Malawians in diaspora,strongly support S.Chilima to be our next President.
Self-appointed analysts. Learn to understand what an oversight is and that to make a mistake is human. The INDE Bank issue is an oversight.
Oversight? On such serious matter? You are probably one of these rotten henchmen ‘beast of prey’. No wonder DPP is in this peril.
A wise and well-meaning president would have selected the right people as advisors and created a parallel system to validate the veracity of advice given. This would be supported by connecting with the ordinary man in the street to hear things for oneself. That’s what a smart and clever president would do. Obviously we don’t have a smart hence being taken advantage of. If a whole state president can be duped by lowly regarded players then what does it say of the subject matter. I rest my case. We have a problem and we should stop analysing
Join the discussion… African Presidents dont get advice from Advisors but the Presidents advise them. Ask them if anyone dared to advise the advisor at any meeting.
People you have analysed the situation so well. It is up to The President to listen and take good sound advice that has been given in the article and the comments.
When does the Baffoon of the President start taking responsibility!!!!
Is our President that retarded that he can’t make his own informed decisions???? He can’t decipher right from wrong, is he a yes Bwana now??? Who is running the country if I may ask? His PR team and so called advisers stink………TIME TO DRAIN THE FUNKY SMELlING SWAMP!!!
One would expect the president to have some common sense. Time to throw in white towel may be?
Big up guy. How can they indeed advise the president to subsidise beer. How can they advise the president to arrange parallel activities to APM. Callister is another bad example of a bad advisor who advised Bingu wrongly, She used to say people in the villages dont need fuel etcand such nosense.
You mean someone advised our president that INDE BANK, which died a painful death a few years ago, can facilitate loans for civil servants? You have to be so thick up there to buy this one.
The question is; who chose those stupid advisers, wasn’t it Muntharika himself? A fool will always find himself in a company of fools as all of them deserve and enjoy foolishness. This dummy called president in Malawi failed anything and everything as a minister on two or more occasions; so what would you expect out of him as a president? He might be a good man as others often put it but leaders are always born not chosen or favoured and the so called good men don’t make good leaders unless they are both.
When one is president he ends up living under seclusion. He is simply detached from the common man and life. However the president as a politician need to find his way out of seclusion and listen to what people say. Muthalika has assembled a not winning team. Who can listen to Uladi musa in this era? Jeffrey and mchacha? They are practising too old politics. On the other hand the president has so many advisors but it seems he doesn’t meet them and if he meet them it is him who advises them and not them advising him. Look at mavuto bamusi, at least the young man is trying and not the likes of mphepo. Try me Mr president, I can try makamaka pali a NTaba apo.
These so-called commentators tend to think that the Malawian readership is headless. In our humble wisdom we appreciate the choice of the royal advisors reflects the natural nimble capacity. Whatever rot the presidency is spewing started from the head your sympathies are misplaced the source of all inertia is plot number one these advisers are trying to feed the correct information to the first desk the man can choose to plug his ears. He is the head of the DPP project he holds the supervision keys the boys must know which side of the kitchen has the delicacies no hot beer courage you’ll be the first casualty save your skin. The onus of total failure is on the APM advisers never go into history books and failure is an orphan so failure is owned by all never shared it is for the man at the wheel. Stop persuading the people to unsee what they see it is the unfolding evidence of their ears and eyes
Bodza nlokoma ngati shuga Chilungamo nchonyung’unya ngati wadya ntedza uvunda they kuti amuuze bwanayo zoona tiyi wamkwaka samwa naye kkkkk koma eeh bwanatu anthu kunjaku akukuchemelerani bwanatu koma Chilima yu muchenjere naye akulandani mpando! Zaziiiiii
Because he is an incompetent bafoon and a joke. I mean, why did he become a president in the first place? Malawians have a tendancy to worship the elite stupid or otherwise. Choose wisely in 2019 elections!