BY BASHIR AL BASHIR
Until now, you can’t name Kamuzu’s children. He kept his family away from government. And we even debate if he had children.
Muluzi, we only knew about a few of his children after he left government. Whilst being the president, his children were kept away from government business.
Bingu’s children were known. We could name them, I know one or two who got board member space and it ended there. Bingu kept government business to himself.
When JB rose to Presidency, I only knew about Roy. You can hardly mention any JB’s children who got government jobs.
We knew APM’s children by face during campaign. Some of us thought as learned they are, they are going to be our next ministers should APM win government. We were wrong, after APM won, none of his children got any government job. They were still in USA running their respective jobs.
When Chakwera came, we thought its the end of nepotism considering how bitterly he preached against it only to be proved wrong. Chakwera wasn’t bitter about nepotism, he was just jealousy that the beneficiaries were not his children nor his relations. Today, Nick’s wife is Director in the Office of the First Lady, Violet has a government job in UK, his other daughter’s husband is Director of Communication. Every house of a child of Chakwera there is one earning salary from Malawi government and or driving a government vehicle. Devastating nepotism.
On another thought, it could not be nepotism, but failure to prepare children to become self reliant as APM did. Running for government jobs or businesses just because you father is a president now tells how you and your father failed to prepare your future. Let us all learn to prepare to make our children independent. Even in companies it happens, there are those bosses children who are nothing but parasites. Failing to mould their own lives, failing to sketch their future.
