MALAWI AT 59: Under Leadership of Slaves

Malawi has clocked 59 years of independence from British colonialism. Executive Director for Leadership for Transparency and Accountability (Lita), Goodwell Logeya, opines on the state’s progress in terms of governance and leadership.

Q1. Malawi has clocked 59 years of self-rule, what is Lita’s assessment from leadership perspective?

1A. To be fairer with the facts in the perspective of Malawi’s self-governance, we should divide Malawi into three eras. The First era is that covered by Kamuzu Banda’s leadership. The second era is that covered by Bingu wa Mutharika. The third is the period covered by the rest of the presidents, the likes of Bakili Muluzi, Joyce Banda, Peter Mutharika and Reverend Lazarus Chakwera.

Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the founding father of the Malawi nation. He laid the foundation onto which the prosperity of our nation could have been built and sustained. He set a precedent that none of his successor eagerly continued, save for Bingu wa Mutharika. Both Kamuzu and Bingu had the vision for exponential growth of the country. Malawi was rising. We, as citizens, could feel that the presidency was indeed occupied by real leadership. Malawi has never had leadership besides Kamuzu and Bingu Wa Mutharika. The rest of them are master minders of corruption, racketeering, looting and money laundering.

Kamuzu led Malawians from the shackles of poverty and colonialism. He broke off the yoke of slavery. He redeemed the nation from Thangata and gave us light of education, health, agriculture, social security, and economic growth. Corruption was not pervasive as it is the case now. Today, corruption is tamed and watered at State House.

Today, the acclaimed self-rule is in principle. The independence cerebrations are not for the commemoration of our own national independence; but the cerebration of ethnic alliances that are rejoicing because it’s their time to eat. They are cerebrating because they are in government to loot and glorify themselves with ill-gotten wealth. It used to be the cerebration of the Yaos during the reign of Bakili Muluzi and Joyce Banda. It then turned to be the cerebration of the Lomwes during the reign of Peter Mutharika. Today, it is the cerebration of the Chewas under the reign of Reverend Lazarus Chakwera. Hence, Malawi at 59 years, remains in sheer rags, utterly divided, scattered and a failed state under leadership of slaves.

Q2. What do you imply by being “under leadership of slaves”?

A2. A slave is one who is owned by another. A slave has less opportunity of ascending on social ladder. He has no voice to be heard. A slave thrives under the mercy of his master. He does not make independent decisions.

In a broader context, Africa was raided by the white and her people were exported to the western countries to provide free labor. Millions of innocent Africans were killed in the process by ruthless raiders; and some were drawn in water along the Trans-Atlantic Oceanic Routes. Africans had no rights for education, good shelter, access to good health facility, etc. In short, Africans were helpless and hopeless.

Thanks to the early missionaries for abolishing the infamous slave trade. Most African countries succeeded in governing themselves, but they are still held captive through their bankrupt mentality. They are controlling the affairs of their states, but their mentality is not liberated. They remain sheer slaves without developmental conscious. Malawi is a typical of such a nation led by slaves after Kamuzu Banda and Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika.

Q3. How do you demystify that phenomenon in respect of Malawi’s self-rule?

A3. Until the 1900s, some brave Africans who had had opportunity for formal western education, began to mobilize themselves to champion the liberation of African states. In the 1960s, Ghana led the aspiration of Africans to break the yoke of the white man’s brutality. Kwame Nkruma spearheaded the independence of African countries through Organization of African Unity. Countries like Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, etc, borrowed a leaf from Nkruma and demystified the political struggle to gain independence from their colonialists.

Malawi has lost her socio-economic trajectory since the death of Kamuzu. The economy has suffered under the watch of mis-leaders who masquerade themselves as democrats. Good governance is on the wane because of this slave mentality.

When a slave ascends to power; untold problems emerge. He/she begins to taste the flavor of the things that never were under his free control during his or her slavery. It is from this bankrupt mentality that such leaders begin to scatter the things that were already gathered. Within one year a pauper who was poorer than a church rat, turns into a millionaire by joining Malawian politics.

Malawi’s Agenda 2030 will not be achieved because Malawi is ruled by slaves. Our nation is highly indebted because of slavery attitude inculcated in our impoverished political barons. It is disheartening that Malawi, with all factors of production endowed to us, has remained the poorest on the global poverty index. Sadly, even our education standard is ranked the poorest in the world.

Q3. Do you have further examples of your claims?

3A. Heavy and burdensome tax regimes are inflicted on unsuspecting public – to suffocate hard working Malawians. These are marks of slaves in position of power. Corruption has infiltrated the public procurement laws. Tenders are offered without following bidding procedures. Significant contracts are awarded to incompetent contractors whose substandard work is nauseating. Those that are given public contracts swindle billions of kwachas for political party financing. As we go to the polls in 2025, our national coffers will suffer because politicians use illicit means to finance their infamous political campaigns.

Slaves are managing government ministries, departments and agencies. They dig trenches for others. They never support any agenda that uplifts their citizens. Slaves in power silence critics.

Slaves in public offices do not recognize the hardworking of others. They would not increase salaries of the civil servants. They promote the welfare of their ratty bellies.

It is a slave who does not consider the highest good of others. A slave mentality says “there is yet not enough for us.” It is only a mere slave who does not have what to share. A slave is insatiable.

He/she does not recognize the human worthiness of others. He/she does not want others to prosper under his/her watch. When slaves cross over, they burn the bridges.

Malawi is bleeding because she doesn’t have leaders who can serve. We need leaders who can recognize everyone’s contribution as being part of integral success.

Slaves in position of influence eliminate those with dissenting views. The reign of slaves is characterized by plundering, and syphoning of national pulse at the highest industrial scale. They milk the poorest “cow” until it starts bleeding. They castrate the youth so that they should not be fruitful.

Q4. What must be done to bring the glory that Kamuzu established?

4A. We must sanitize our political system. We must partially adopt the democracy of the neighboring South Africa. A president should not be bigger than a political party. The governing party must have powers to fire the sitting president who has failed in the aspect of governing. We must remove presidential immunity.

We must strengthen our laws that regulate political parties. We have over 40 registered political parties with unrealistic ideologies, ambiguous manifestos, and mercenary motives. These parties are financed through illicit means. There is no transparency and accountability regarding party financing. None of these parties has agenda to develop the country besides harboring sinister motive of looting with impunity.

We must strengthen citizen voice and build people power to hold public officers into account without fear of reprisals. We must be patriots that desist from corruption in its every form.

We should enact swift laws that can give powers to the voters to remove the non-performing public officers. Five year-term offers public thieves an indirect amnesty, hence a waste of time and resources.

Q5. Why is Malawi still donor dependent at 59 years of self-rule?

5A. Donor dependency is a complex syndrome which is far from over. Both literal and bilateral aid have stringent conditions to them. However, corruption and impunity are wasting the logic of aid to Malawi. There are a lot of trillion dollars that are pumped into Malawi from bilateral and literal donors. Corruption is the detrimental weapon that kills development. We shall remain poorer and utterly poor, and never graduate from dependence on China, Japan, UK, America, German, etc. This entails that Malawi at 59 years, is not independent at all! We are under the leadership of slaves.

Q6. Is there any hope that Malawi will rise?

6A. Yes. Our country has all factors of production endowed to us. We can enterprise with them and become a prosperous nation. Malawi has hard working people. Our nation is collapsed by public insatiable hyenas whom we put into power to look for sheep. Malawi has the best men and women who have not been given chance to lead. Unfortunately, Malawian politics favors crooks and thieves. We need to wake up from putting people into offices simply because they come from our tribe or denomination. The next elections should vote out thieves and elect genuine leaders that are compassionate to serve regardless of their tribe, creed, or region.