By IOMMIE CHIWALO
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has called on Malawians to realise that they are now on their own as the writing is on the wall that the Tonse Alliance Government led by President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera is thinking less about their welfare, let alone their plight.
In a statement made available to this publication and signed by CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa, the organisation has sought for external support if at all the country is to make progress especially in the fight against corruption which is among key governance indicators that facilitates support from development partners.
CDEDI Executive Director says that signs that Malawians are on their own are clear.
He cited the occasion where President Chakwera spent about 18 minutes trying in vain to justify his trip and thereby conveniently forgetting the crises he had left behind that have forced the economy onto its knees namely; forex shortage, fuel shortage, electricity blackouts and acute shortage of essential drugs and medical supplies in our hospitals.
“If the President and his government had the welfare of Malawians at heart, he would certainly have seized the opportunity at KIA to speak on such issues rather than celebrating the UNGA trip,” he said.
Chakwera’s return home has coincided with the raging debate over serious allegations that he manipulated the report submitted to him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for political expedience whereby Malawians are now waiting with baited breath to hear him say something about this very important matter which touches on his credibility.
“Sad that he chose to say nothing about it. His tenacity to avoid the issue is a clear testimony that Malawians and him as their leader are travelling at different wave lengths in as far as the fight against corruption is concerned,” Namiwa says.
To put it bluntly, by burying his head in the sand on corruption, the President has led the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the civil society and the media to abandon Malawians in the fight against corruption.
CDEDI has since appealed to the donor community to pool resources that would enable ACB hire the best lawyers it can get to make progress on a few cases because the political elite has formed an unholy alliance to frustrate the corruption fight.
“Thus far, CDEDI is challenging President Chakwera to prove it wrong by coming in the open and exonerate himself from accusations of manipulation of the ACB report,” he said.
Adding that Chakwera must immediately fire the Minister of Forestry and Natural resources, Hon. Eisenhower Mkaka, MP who the ACB publicly confirmed is under investigation and also explain to Malawians why top government officials namely: the Minister of Mines Albert Mbawala; the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Dr. Steve Kayuni; the Accountant General Jean Munyenyembe; and the IFIMS Director Felix Zagwazatha Sato are still discharging their duties in the midst of allegations that they claimed unjustifiable allowances from the Accountant General (AG’s) office when junior staff in a similar predicament were arrested and interdicted.
Knowing that Malawi is an agro-based country, CDEDI has also touched on the AIP dilemma and hunger situation saying it has to be treated with the urgency it deserves.
Namiwa wondered why if President Chakwera really cared about Malawians, on his return home on Tuesday never addressed the issue of hunger that is threatening the survival of millions of lives.
“He would have addressed the matter by among other things, demanding a report from his Minster of Agriculture Hon. Lobin Lowe on the status of the maize situation in the country, owing to the soaring prices and the state of preparedness on the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) now that the 2022/23 growing season is setting in,”
Writing on his Twitter account, Chakwera only briefed Malawians about his meetings both in USA and UAE but indicated that will divulge more information in due course.
