UDF Leader in Parliament, Poya scolds Tonse Alliance: “Stop thinking about 2025 elections, start governing.”
“People will soon stop appreciating excuses that the economy is failing to grow because of the pandemic.”
United Democratic Front (UDF) leader in Parliament, Ned Poya has lambasted Tonse Alliance administration to stop politicking towards 2025 General Elections and that they should start governing the country and move Malawians forward to progress and prosperity.
Poya, who is a Parliamentarian for Zomba Ntonya Constituency, made the scathing remarks in Parliament Wednesday while responding to the State of Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Lazarus Chakwera last week Wednesday.
Said Poya: “I request the Tonse Government to stop thinking about 2025 instead they should glove up and get to work.”
The Zomba Ntonya legislator said the new government led by President Chakwera should not waste time blaming old times in failure to progress but focus on moving forward to make the lives of Malawians better.
Poya urged the Malawian leader, president Chakwera to start translating his beautiful speeches into action.
“For governments have come and gone with one thing in common, flowery speeches and moon promising, yet most Malawians are still languishing in abject poverty. Maybe and just maybe, this SONA will be be different.
“As most Malawians are tired with speeches for they have realised that most beautiful speeches have resulted in non-action. Indeed they are gasping for actions,” Poya said.
He added: “I cannot agree more that national progress means that without a consensus on what we are collectively trying to accomplish, we will inevitably become a nation of competing priorities, not a nation of completed priorities.”
Poya also complained to the House that the Tonse Alliance government has turned the Ministry of Agriculture into an Affordable input Programme (AIP) institution saying other important areas such as research, extension and livestock production among others are being forgotten and neglected because all energy is put on the flagship hunger-fighting programme which the Chakwera led administration has invested K142 billion.
‘Be clear’
The UDF leader in the August house that now is the is time that as a country we all agreed to refuse the narrative that Malawi is an impoverished nation and that people live below the poverty line as declared by the United Nations.
Poya charged that government needs to be clear on how it intends on how it intends to reduce domestic borrowing as well as growing the economy in the middle of horrifying challenges brought by the ravaging global novel coronavirus pandemic.
“Government should be clear on execution to grow the economy with the Covid-19 horizon because people will soon stop appreciating the excuses that the economy is failing to move or grow because of the pandemic,” said Poya.
Poya further said Government should also be clear on employment and explain how the one million jobs promise is going on.
Poya, however, lamented that President Chakwera in his SONA missed an important issue concerning mental health.
“Madam Speaker, as UDF we whole-heartedly commend the government on most interventions in the health sector, but here what is conspicuously missing in the president’s Sona is the issue of suicide and mental health as there are evidently alarming suicide trends in Malawi.
“Suicide trends in Malawi continue to grow at an alarming rate. The growth rate has been observed in the past 10 years. However, the past three years have been worse. With this increasing trend in mind, one can only question if the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic will result in even greater suicide rates as time passes by.
“I stand here, alarmed, knowing the various mental health, economic, and psychosocial problems among others that Malawians are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic to question what we are doing in order to curb these suicide rates.
Poya said Malawi needs a very good water and air transport in order to move up with the global modern trends.
“The world being a global village, each country must have a vibrant air and water transport and it is for this reason that as a country we need to look into the problems faced by the Malawian Airlines and the contract we signed with Ethiopian Airlines.
The Zomba Ntonya asked the Tonse Alliance government on the position of housing for people living with albinism as promised by the ousted Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The Tonse Alliance government should be clear,” said Poya.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Very true
Chakwera has failed.
The issue of 2025 is not propagated by by the two leaders but their fervent supporters who have nothing to do with the running of government business. Evidence on the ground shows that they are doing thier job in a fantastic way. Just imagine the bumper crop small holder farmers have realised this year. Masewera amenewo anthu osususa.
Mbwerera izi. Who’s talking about 2025? It’s udf and dpp who should be thinking about the decline of their parties. You brought Malawi down through theft and corruption. You promoted hatred. You promoted tribalism.
this was a briliant comment mr phoya….especially on agriculture and mental health issues the govt is still blind on mental health issues
Poya have a great Valid point yes we passed the time of promises but must be turned into action in other way is not surprising the current administration and the previous all the same
These are good observations from UDF.
Kodi UDF ilipobe??? Where did Atupele go?? 🤣🤣
Oops! n’nayiwala, paja tili ndi chipani chotchedwa udp eeti? I beg your pardon, chotchedwa udf.
Surely speaking if all members of parliament were right minded like Hon POYA this country would have been developed beyond recognition.How ever the majority in the house just think of allowances and perk hiking.