The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is dismayed by the statement made by President Lazarus Chakwera describing Malawi’s Heads of Diplomatic Missions in ALL Malawi Diplomatic missions abroad as ‘bad apples’. This is unfortunate language and unfit to be used by a Head of State in reference to Malawi’s serving representatives abroad.
We acknowledge that it is the prerogative of President Chakwera to appoint his own Heads of Missions abroad, and other diplomats; and to replace those appointed by the DPP Government. In doing so, however, it is completely unprecedented and inconceivable in diplomacy for the President of a country to publicly demean and undermine the country’s diplomats while they serve our country abroad.
We have observed that the President is recalling all Malawi’s Heads of Missions abroad. Those recalls were made way before the South African incident, and have nothing to do with that incident. As we said earlier, that is his prerogative. However, all the Heads of Malawi Missions abroad cannot be described as ‘bad apples’.
They are, in fact, men and women without blemish on their professional and diplomatic conduct. To publicly call these men and women ‘bad apples’ while they are still in their posts, in very unfortunate and smacks of diplomatic inexperience. We call upon the President to be restrained and judicious in dealing with diplomatic matters.
We in the DPP join the President in expressing our disappointment at the breach of diplomatic privileges and breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by the Malawi staff deployed at the Malawi High Commission in Pretoria and the Consulate in Johannesburg. We acknowledge that it was within the powers and rights of the South African Government, under the law governing international relations, to declare the Malawi diplomats persona non grata. However, even in this case, although motivated by the desire to appease and please the South African Government, the President must remain mindful of the fact that the diplomats are his own citizens towards whom he owes a fundamental duty under our Constitution. The diplomats, while still in South Africa, therefore deserve the protection of their President and their own government. A demure and restrained expression of regret would have been a fitting response by our President towards his South African counterpart.
We in the DPP are however puzzled and unimpressed that, while recalling the so-called ‘bad apples’, the President is replacing them with some characters with a proven chequered record of rectitude and probity. It is therefore obvious that the President is failing to merely acknowledge the obvious: namely, that he is trying to fill the embassies with his cronies, regardless of their conduct.
As a matter of fact, we in the DPP are no longer impressed with the President’s statement about ‘removing rubble’. He is, in actual fact, ‘gathering rubble’ in great abundance. (We must at this juncture ask the President to search his
conscience and reflect upon the propriety of calling his fellow human beings ‘rubble’).
Corruption, as everyone now knows, is rampant under the present administration. The President has failed to take any notable action against those responsible for the loot of the K6.2bn Covid money. The only attempt at doing something about it, ended up being a terrible mistake for which the President embarrassingly apologised. In the meantime, the Government is reportedly refusing to receive money from well-wishers intended to help institute an investigation into the K17bn funds that seem to have been looted in similar fashion. What is the Government afraid will be revealed?
Then there is the MERA/ NOCMA debacle, whose looting arrows are pointing in all directions within the Tonse Government. What credibility remains with this Government?
President Chakwera must know by now that he is not standing on any moral high ground in so far as fighting corruption is concerned. In fact, President Chakwera is on ground zero. President Chakwera had lots of underserved goodwill at the start of his term. He has, unfortunately, squandered it all before the end of one year.
(Pa ground Sipali Bwino!)
Chimwemwe Chipungu- MP
NATIONAL ORGANIZING SECRETARY
