THE FLOW AND FLAW OF THABO

By Greyson Chapita

There once was a man.. a man of virtue and integrity while working at Malawi’s central bank, the Reserve Bank as a Manager and Legal Counsel. Such a feat at his age of 40 and with all his academic handiness, a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Chancellor College and a Master of Laws Degree in International Financial Law from University of Sussex in the UK, there can never be another man other than Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda.

His experience in the trade is a topic for another day, but the highpoint of his career was on 27^th August, 2021 when President Lazarus Chakwera named him as the country’s Attorney General replacing Dr Chikosa Silungwe who was being accused by some section in the Malawi Congress Party that his legal opinions were calculated to expose and frustrate the Chakwera led administration…. So, Thabo was their main man.

Being Chakwera’s “main man”, Thabo never shillyshallied to get things working. He was all over making pronouncements about working to protect public money from dubious payments. He spoke about questionable contracts that needed to be sent to trashcans, the fight against corruption and instilling discipline in the public service and its financial systems.

Thabo was indeed our man of the moment… We all needed a Thabo to change things around, and true to that, Thabo spoke and represented change.

His name was also on the tongues of many praise singers, the “bola DPP inachoka” type of handclappers after the AG, new in the game, managed to whip DPP off their political maneuverings as they sought for nullification of the fresh presidential poll following the firing of some MEC Commissioners who were found “incompetent” by the Constitution Court hearing the 2019 presidential election case.

Thabo kept on pitching his work high, he picked on the Techno Brain’s passport contract with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services by questioning the procurement process. He went for the contract and it was cancelled accordingly and Thabo Chakaka became the “Chakalaka” flavor in our national pudding.

But then, satana amati akati akusake, Thabo never saw what was instore for him on 10^th January, 2022. He went on to give a 60-day amnesty to all alleged crooks accused of defrauding government in their business dealings or illegally acquired wealth, to voluntarily pay back the said wealth or face the law.

This was the beginning of his low moments, especially coming munyengo ya Mr Zuneith Sattar, Batawalala and other “Pangolins” around. Many governance stakeholders never took this lightly, they throbbed Chakaka, describing this as a move deemed to shield Sattar and his business associates from prosecution.

It didn’t end there…… Thabo kept on starring in the Sattar episodes and the latest was where the Platform of Investigative Journalism took their meat from. This is where the AG is alleged to have authorized payment to Sattar on some government business, while in public Thabo sounded all holly making a stance against dealing with Sattar’s owned companies and barred him from public procurement.

To “Sattar” his “Sattar-ing” he called Dr Kainja and his boys to action, reminding us once again that we still have some black cock traits within some so-called agents of change who would go miles clinching their fists against everything that seems to promote freedom of the press.

Like his many green jackets legionnaires, Chakaka went ahead abusing his power and authority pouncing on PIJ’s Gregory Gondwe, his gadgets and I don’t know what else…

Chakaka forgot that he is one of the custodians of the country’s laws. He is the face of our country’s justice system the last man to tow towards attempts that explore otherwise… All his accomplishments, gone; all the respects, gone.

Chakaka must be told in bold that Freedom of the press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose and that’s what it means to be in a democracy.

As the country’s AG, he wouldn’t wake up today and decide to pick and chose which types of freedom he would want to defend, its either he defends all of it or be against all of it… The best would be for him to resign for he is in the wrong office. He should try full time politics maybe and battle with journalists all he wants and see if he would make himself a political goon anyway.

People like Chakaka must be reminded that no government ought to be without censors; unless its being led by people that are not sane. Everyone deserves their legal rights in full, even when they disagree with us. Protecting their rights protects ours.

Atolankhani mukuwamanga lerowa, muzawafuna pa mmawa…. Amanyozeka lero poti mudakali nazo mphamvu, pammawa nthenga zizathothoka muzawafuna… Besides, at 40 you are still young Mr Chakaka to make things right and leave a legacy. Your fall though has fallen too soon…

Dear Mr President

 

Forgive my demeanors thus far for writing you in this manner; in fact, your present comportment coupled with your middle finger altitude towards Malawians, puts you in a position where you don’t deserve any pleasantries. You give us a middle finger; we give you some... That’s how we are rolling, that’s what you taught us with your HRDC gang that “Osaopa”, yeah sitikuopa.

Some few days ago I was sent some video clips of you Mr President during your yesteryears, sharing the word of God at the pulpit as President of the Assemblies of God in Malawi, oh my! I was impressed. The power, the energy, the passion, the art in your language, your familiarity with the word moved me, not only me, I believe you moved a number of souls during your time.

 

Mr President, it’s an indignity to your past feat that you are failing to translate the same, now that you proceeded to the secular world. Your show thus far is a minus zero, below everything that we call excellence. 

 

Apart from some good English, your biceps, that army uniform you wore someday, nice suits, taking the Covid-19 jab, “fuming” and “spitting” nothing and a display of many other nothings, you stand to be the worst president to have ever occupied State House, but for the sake optimism I refuse to make such a conclusion. 

 

You asked for patience, for some good 12 months Malawians gave you all the time. 12 months is long enough to lay foundation for change. 12 months is long enough to offer hope for a new Malawi. 12 months is long enough to get rid of nepotism and corruption.

 

12 months is long enough to lay foundation for the country’s social and economic transformation. 12 months is a century which can give a new face to Malawi, with some good policy direction and well thought for governance decisions.

 

Mr President, 12 months is even long enough to learn the trade of governing and staying away from blunders, scandals, and mediocrity that have characterized this current administration at each and every second of your stay at Kamuzu Palace. 

 

12 months is long enough to create jobs, reduce presidential powers and turning away from all the ills and the mess that were created by DPP as you made us believe on the campaign trail and as Leader of Opposition.

 

Mr President, to say you have failed is not an invention but the truth. Malawi is sailing on troubled waters without a captain. You don’t exist anymore; we can’t even hear your footsteps. 

 

Your ministers Mr President have gone rabid, and you can’t even tame them. I guess you are happy to be called the "King of thieves" as former president APM called you a couple of days ago.

All you know is turning this country into a Chakwera monarchy where Prince and Princess with their spouses are all over taking charge.

 

Mr Chakwera you gave Malawians a dummy, such a scam. Unfortunately, the Laz SKC pair had the goodwill of Malawians. But now the people that stood by you, the people that gave it all, the people that ushered you into power, the people that fearlessly fought to send DPP to the opposition benches feel cheated. All their hopes, all their wishes, everything was just in vain.

 

I can go on and on… Mr Chakwera, for once, would you please stop snoring at Kamuzu Palace, wake up and start doing the right thing. Is that asking for too much? I guess NO!

 

Ndisiyile pompa kaye kwa lero

 

Truly yours

 

Che Adyamani.

BJ IN 2021? NO PLEASE

Brown Mpinganjira has had a colourful political career whose story spans from 1986 when he joined the list of people who were detained for fighting the one party regime, to his release in 1991. It proceeded to the time he joined a team of fighters that formed a pressure group that lobbied for a referendum and made history in 1993 when Malawians voted for multi party democracy.

His political journey continued in 1994 when he won the parliamentary seat for Mulanje Central where he served his people for 15 years before they gave him an exit for not representing their development agenda.

By the way, BJ comes some one or two villages away from my late father's village in Mulanje, so i have a very good understanding of the reasons why my people gave him that middle finger in 2009.

Mpinganjira's political story continued. He became a darling of many when he fought Bakili Muluzi's third term bid and contested as a Presidential candidate for his NDA in 2004 and as a running mate for JZU in 2009. He failed on both attempts and that marked the begining of his political fuss. The way he jumped from UDF, NDA and then MCP revealed how desperate he was, for power.

The way he abandoned most of his NDA cronies, the way he betrayed his NDA agenda, disappointed the youth who formed  a bigger bunch of his NDA followers. The way he threw away all his manners and became obsessed with power. The way he normalised political prostitution, as long as it promised him some grip to power, Mpinganjira was ready to serve himself the dish to glory.

His story, is one that has seen him jump to bed with all political parties in power without shame, and made his way to some positions of influence.

Mpinganjira has appeared in almost all political fights in Malawi. In UDF, in MCP for JZU to pick him as running mate, in PP after JB's loss in 2014, and now at the center of the fights within DPP.  As long as there is power play, Mpinganjira's name will appear somewhere leading and fueling the same.

BJ hates competition... He loves making headlines. He thinks because of his MBC and Ministry of Information background then he stands better as a communication specialist for all political parties he has worked for, even at 71 in 2021.

The truth of the matter is, 2021 is the time to get rid of him and all these old cronies of his that introduced politics of handouts to our people and promoted laziness. Politicians that normalised political prostitution and think politics in Malawi must evolve around them and them alone. Politicians who have used the youth for their political gains and dumped them. 

The Brown Mpinganjira's of this world who have brought down rulers with their bad advice and love for money and power. Remember he was once fronted by JB in 2014, she failed, APM made him part of his campaign team during the fresh presidential poll and chaired the media and publicity sub-commitee, and APM lost.

We cant keep having people that made the art of handclapping in this country our daily dosage. They introduced themselves as heroes and want us to keep worshiping them as long as they live....

BJ? No please... Part 2 please... Loading.

DPP..... THE RETURN OF NYEKHWE

One thing i love about DPP supporters is their ability to turn some low situations into high and wow moments. Their love for the party, passion, dedication, enthusiasm and unity of purpose is what makes them look different from other political parties..

The young and the old, they set aside their economic status, ethnicity, education and religious backgrounds to speak with one voice and work towards a common goal and that is to defend their May 21 hard earned victory..

Most of these supporters have seen it all, from April 2012 when Bingu died where they lost government to their May 2014 glory. They have survived all the insults, they have survived being victims of hate and bitterness, they have survived or the tribal tirades and recently the court Injustice which will be vindicated soon through the fresh election which the DPP is poised to win at any cost..


Am seeing the DPP spirit coming back to life like the one we experienced in 2012 on the road to the 2014 polls..

The coming fresh election is not about putting back the DPP into power but about the DPP stamping authority over all its distractors. Its about saving Malawi from all undemocratic elements that have characterised the better part of the APM regime.

The fresh election is about uprooting all agents of hate, jealousy and bitterness. It's about the beginning of new politics where Malawi becomes one not belonging to certain individuals, political parties, region, tribe or religion.. Here is an opportunity that has presented itself to Malawians.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the DPP might be down but not yet out. The court case might be won but not yet done. The DPP will rise again...

MY TAKE ON THE ALBINO KILLINGS

People are still commenting, a lot has been said, conclusions being made, the media has brought to light the ills, others are treating the issue while wearing their political lenses, but mine will be an honest opinion based on how I feel about these killings of people with albinism.

According to the recent released report by the Human Rights defending body, Amnesty international, these killings have been recorded in 23 countries in Africa, with Malawi and Tanzania recording the highest number.

Yesterday I argued with a friend who was saying that these killings are as a result of weakness in the country’s leadership and my answer was simple; this is how I presented my arguments, starting with some examples;

In South Africa, crime is a prominent issue. The country has a very high rate of murders, assaults, rapes (adult, child, elderly and infant), carjacking and other crimes compared to most countries. But wait a minute; South Africa has had prominent leaders in Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki now Jacob Zuma. Is the high crime late as a result of weak leadership for the past years?

To me the issue is all about the sickness of the society in South Africa. The high crime rate is being contributed by social factors from poverty, high unemployment rate, emigration, illiteracy, over population, post apartheid effects etc.

Yes, some of the issues can be sorted by government but others are beyond government because the rot is just deep rooted in the South Africa’s society.

Imagine this is happening yet SA Police has over One thousand police stations across the country. Their police is also one of the most organized in Africa, with enough resources but crime is almost everywhere.
Crime rates can be reduced but cannot be ended everywhere in the world crime is committed almost every day, even in America but that doesn’t translate to weak leadership.

In Malawi we have had cases of defilement and rape where women and children are the most victims. Cases of armed robbery are recorded almost every day. And this has been happening even from the time of Bakili, Bingu, JB and now APM. Only that in the past we had no social media and the traditional media was still in its infancy.

Now in this era of Smart-phones, we no longer rely on the traditional media for breaking news. Within seconds the story is all over facebook, twitter and whatsapp. We were hearing albinos don’t die, they just go missing. We used to believe in such stories up until when the media started reporting that no, our friends are being killed by some monsters kind of people.

To add on to that, courts have been melting stiff punishments to the rape suspects, armed robbers are being killed through mob justice and sometimes killed by the police. Have these punishments stopped wanna-be-offenders from committing the very same offences?

I thought the killings and the stiff court punishments would scare away other criminals? NO! We can arrest the rapists, the robbers or even kill them etc, but almost every day, someone somewhere will be committing a crime.

As you can see, this is not as a result of weak leadership.

Now the case of Albinos, the president doesn’t live with the albinos in the villages, we do. We know where they live, we see them every day. What measures have we taken to protect them? What are the traditional leaders doing?

I remember we still have community policing in our communities, what are they doing to protect our friends? Have we done enough in our communities to protect our friends or we don’t care anymore?

How can we know that so and so is planning to abduct and kill an Albino? Can government afford to give the albinos police protection 24 hours? Should we say the albinos must drop out of school so that they stay home and remain safe? Or they should also stop going to church? Remain indoors? But some of the abductions have happened while the albinos are safely sleeping in their homes? Must the lives of the albinos come to a halt for them to remain safe?

Government has condemned the albino killings lead by our president which is commendable. The police have arrested some of the killers and the courts have successfully sentenced them.

So what’s the problem now? What must we do as a nation? Because the people that are killing the albinos could be MCP, PP, UDF, DPP or they could be CCAP, Catholic, SDA or Pentecostals. They could be Tumbukas, Lomwes, Yaos, Tongas etc. These are the people we live with.

These killings could also be as a result of poverty, superstitious beliefs, high illiteracy levels etc. We have NGOs oeperating in different communities, what are they doing? Instead of initiating the “stop open defecation” projects, why can’t they take lead in senstising communities against these acts?
What about church leaders? School authorities in the communities, traditional leaders and other village structures.

Why can’t companies compliment government’s efforts in supporting the police with resources?

This issue affects all of us and the solution must come from all of us. We must stop this finger pointing game. It will take us nowhere. It did not take a year to stop the killings in Tanzania, it took them years.

MY THOUGHTS ON BINGU (Part 2): UNDERSTANDING THE BINGU DREAM

The Bingu dream lives on

Why do we talk about the Bingu dream? Why was Bingu talking about dreams? Why do we scream words like “the dreamer is gone but the dream lives on?” Yes, Bingu our visionary leader is gone but not with his dreams. He was a dreamer but not just any other dreamer. He was one who would work so hard to translate the dreams into reality.

The uniqueness of this dreamer was that he was not only dreaming about himself but his dreams were always about Malawi.

He dreamt while eyes open, no wonder President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe spoke with admiration about this great leader this other day urging him to keep “dreaming and dreaming”. Why? The Bingu dream was so impressive, broad, significant, and persuasive.

Who could fault the late Bingu’s dreams when all eyes were there to see how the dream manifested itself on the ground in all sectors of development.

Wait a minute, before I go on and on we need to talk about something very important. For us to understand the reality of the Bingu dream better let’s look at how dreams are made in the brain. You would agree with me that dreaming is an important component of the human experience; I dream, you dream, we all can dream, but the value of the dream is what matters.

For us to dream here are the things that are needed; First a person needs to have a brain that is functioning. The second step in the construction of dreams is vision. You need a clear vision for you dream. It’s what we see, think and touch that is stored and processed in the brain to become a dream.

Any damage to one distinct region of the brain which is said to be crucial for the generation of dreams would cause what is called Charcot-Wilbrand syndrome, named after neurologists Jean-Martin Charcot and Hermann Wilbrand, who first described it in the 1880s. This is an illness that causes people to stop dreaming. It usually develops when one is attacked by stroke.

As explained, dreams are constructed when one has a clear vision and a functioning brain. A person who is able to look at current developments and analyse them comprehensively. One who can gaze into the future and make sense of all the ideas generated in the mind before putting them into practice. A person who will be able to dream, interpret and make use of the dreams and turn them into a reality.

Unfortunately the truth is, not all people are gifted in that area. It’s just the same as leadership. Imagine having a gifted leader who is able to lead, dream and interpret the dream.

A leader, who is so visionary, well exposed to issues, one who is able to empower his people with a sense of self belief and reliance and sanctions them to own the country. That’s Bingu Wa Mutharika for you and that’s what the Bingu dream stands for.

Unfortunately Bingu never lived to achieve everything that he had in store for Malawi. The good thing is, the Bingu dream lives on. People that believed in the Bingu dream are all fired up to continue from where this great son of the soil stopped and build on the Bingu legacy. This is a legacy that gives Malawians hope.

As we gather on 9th May at Ndata in remembrance of the fallen hero, we remind each other to live in fulfillment of the Bingu dream.

MY THOUGHTS ON BINGU AHEAD OF HIS COMMEMORATION THIS SATURDAY

I will live to remember this visionary leader

Nobody believed it was true. The Nation was swallowed up with whispering voices of uncertainty. The news started making rounds around 11am in the morning. It was a Thursday morning by the way. 

A Thursday that brought an end to the life of a legend. A visionary and great son of Malawi who was so passionate about his country.  He was a man who loved everything about Malawi and had loved to be understood by his own people. A great leader whose legacy can never be exaggerated.

Each time we use all these adjectives and flowery language in trying to describe this fallen hero, we get buried into a sea of recollections that once upon a time there was Bingu Wa Mutharika the third President of the republic of Malawi.  

He came to Malawi as a nonentity politically. Apart from what we used to know of him at Comesa, there was no footprint for him on the political ground. Of course he co-founded the United Democratic Front UDF together with Bakili Muluzi in 1992, but that history seemed to have been swallowed by names that registered their significance on the road to the national referendum then. 

In 1999 he gave it a go on the presidential ballot with his United Party, sadly he finished last. An ordinary man would predict political doom for such a man. I would have declared him as a finished politician if it were me making an analysis of the 1999 polls. NO! Bingu never gave up. The passion for his country propelled him to display traits of greatness to the admiration of one political engineer.

In the political engineering process Bakili Muluzi made Bingu the Governor of the Reserve Bank, before roping him into cabinet. It never ended there, Bakili named Bingu as his successor in 2004. That marked the beginning of the manifestation of vastness in Bingu.

Bingu proved to the continent and the entire world that Africa needed an African solution to its problems. He instilled a sense of ownership of the country’s resources to the citizenry. He preached a message of self reliance. He reminded us of the vastness of our natural resources and how we can work to achieve even more in terms of production other than consuming. 

Bingu spoke with authority. His language depicted him as a craftsman of all trades. He was touted the “economic engineer” not out of sheer comedy but absolute enormous.  His first term was labelled a success by people from all sectors of our society.

Today as we think of joining his brother on Saturday, 9^th May, 2015, who will be leading the Mutharika family and the entire nation at Ndata farm where he is sleeping peacefully, it’s that time we reflect on the life and times of Bingu. What he achieved for this country that he loved so much. As a human being he might have made some judgemental errors, but they can never put to rest the Bingu legacy. They can never take away his dream that keeps living up to this very day.

Here was a man who was so committed to changing the face of this country. Who made us become proud of being called Malawians. For once we smiled each time people called us Malawians.

History can never be erased!

Till we meet again!

  

WHEN POLITICIANS DECIDE TO PAINT THE YOUTHS: CALL THAT YOUTH EMPOWERNMENT

Next month the Peter Mutharika administration clocks one year. During this period the media will be awash with different players in the political, social and economic subdivisions battling it out over the best vocabulary to describe the one year under APM.

As for me my interest will be to analyse what the country has achieved in terms of youth development. Are we making progress?

Let me take you back to the May polls last year. It is a clear fact that the winning formula in 2014 was the youths. Almost all the contesting candidates had put much emphasis on youth development. The youths were so excited with the change they were being promised. No wonder they participated fully in the King making process.

In MCP, UDF, DPP and PP the youths were almost everywhere leading the campaign. But unfortunately the reality is, most youths were just being used.

For years we have seen that most politicians think the role for the youths is simply to paint them orange, blue or yellow, bundle them in trucks, buy them sachets and make them become lead praise singers at political rallies that’s all.

Politicians take pride in using the youths to advance their political agendas. Unfortunately most youths love being used. They are short sighted. They don’t look at the future because the handouts from politicians keep blinding them.

In 2015 we can’t be talking about youth empowerment when all we keep seeing are pictures of politicians taking pride in youths that are painted all over with colours of their different political parties. Who ever invented this must be cursed where ever he is. He must be accredited for bringing evil in the country’s political system.

The more reason why these “unemployed sachet guzzling youths” paint themselves is the small monies they receive at the end of the day. We are talking the K20s, the K50s, Geez! That’s an insult to the youths.
Politicians can’t wake up and start claiming to be rebranding the youths when all they keep doing is painting them, buy them sachets and keep them as praise singers.

A crafty politician would take that as a sign that most young people in the country have got literally nothing to do. The craftiness comes when one takes advantage of that and brands it as one of the core programs in the advancement of the youth development agenda.

The high level of unemployment amongst the youths is nothing but an embarrassment to the politicians whether in government or in opposition. All I have been hearing from these politicians is some political rhetoric and empty promises about youth empowerment when the reality on the ground tells us otherwise.
According to the politicians who most of the times keep giving us the middle finger altitude once in power “the youths, belong to the praise singer’s bench that’s all”.

The DPP on the road to power in 2014 promised the following for the youths; Create diverse jobs for the Youth who are out of school, planning the means of employment for the Youth in school, empowering them with the knowledge and skills for creating wealth at individual and national levels. I must say this is what we need in this country at the moment.

Yes, the community colleges are here to help the youths in attaining vocational skills that will go a long way in uplifting their lives as they will become self reliant, but there is more that need to be done.

The whole system needs a complete overhaul to make youths become partners in development. Youths must now work with politicians not for politicians. We need change not just change but change for the better. This will mean changing everything about the welfare of the youths, changing everything about where the youths are placed in the society.

The ongoing Public Sector Reform Program must also get rid of some old timers who spend our taxes doing nothing at Capital hill but cash-gating and playing bawo. They can’t even operate a computer because they are still living in the analogue era. No wonder the underperformance of the Civil Service in most sectors.

These must go! Replace them with some young brains that are just loafing in the streets but have attractive papers combined with skill and modern knowledge. Appoint these young men and women into more senior positions in government and institutions of public importance.

We can’t claim to be making progress when we keep hearing the very same names changing positions up there in the name of Public Service Reforms. Those that have failed us let them pack up and go and employ some young and energetic force to stir the public service to glory.

I need change, you need change, and we are the kingmakers and let us choose our own destiny by making our demands known. Our noise must be organised noise not because we are being given sachets or we are made cheer leaders, but because we believe that we are very important and that these politicians need to treat us as such.

OF FOOTBALL SPONSORSHIP AND SOME SICK CONTRACTS

The joke that is Malawian football will never cease to astound me. The funniest part of our game is in the boardroom where it is managed by a bunch of comedians who have never achieved anything for the country. They are so clueless as to how much investment is needed to uplifting the standards to match those of our friends elsewhere.

What caught my attention thus far is this TNM super league sponsorship where I hear that no other mobile service provider is allowed to sponsor any super league team as long as the TNM sponsorship contract is in effect. Seriously this is taking the football family for granted; in fact whosoever was party to this nonsense brought us 10 plus steps backwards regarding football development.

I hear the Bullets failed to court other mobile service operators like Airtel simply because TNM and Sulom plus FAM agreed on some contract like document that stops other wanna be sponsors to come in as long as they are their competitors. 

I also remember Azam tigers this other season had struggled to have their jersey scribbled “Azam” because of this sponsorship accord. 

Picture this, for years now we have been debating as to whether ours is an amateur league, a semi professional or a professional league. I think now we have the answers; we are nothing but an amateur league because everything about our football stopped making sense long time ago.

All you hear from these football jokers during cup prize presentation ceremonies is some applauding to TNM for “working to uplifting the game of football in the country through their sponsorship”. Geez! We are a sick nation indeed. This nonsensical sponsorship can’t be applauded. Yes we are so desperate for sponsorship but we don’t need to be jumping to all the tunes being plucked by these companies, besides where is the corporate social responsibility.

Just take a look at South Africa. The Premier Soccer League enjoys sponsorship from four companies, MTN, Absa, Telkom, Nebank and as you can see, Telkom and MTN are rivals in business. Apart from that, there are no restrictions in jersey naming. Orlando Pirates and Kaizer chiefs put on Vodacom labelled jerseys but are freely participating in the MTN8 wafwafa and the Telkom knockout donning their Vodacom uniforms.

In fact, MTN sponsors four clubs in the premiership: Ajax Cape Town, Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows and Black Leopards.

Back home, with this worthless contract between TNM and our super league how do you expect companies to come in and sponsor our clubs? What will they benefit from such a venture? They would opt out because they can’t have their company logos and names on the jersey of the clubs in a company because of these useless restrictions.

It’s high time this contract is reviewed otherwise it doesn’t make sense to me.

TNM always not with us…. Especially in football.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE IMPENDING DEMOS

Rev Sembereka

It’s more than a fact now and the picture is coming out clearly that the Mac Donald Semberekas of this world are politicians that are advancing an anti DPP government while masquerading as Civil Society. You can tell by their arrogance, actions and choice of words as there are still pushing to take to the streets, an idea which is becoming more unpopular each passing moment.

The three (is it five now?) are using the civil society platform to advance their political agenda and that’s the more reason why their colleagues in the civil society are distancing themselves from their plans.

They have chosen to close their eyes and ears from any voice of reason and it’s giving us all time to think “what the hell?”

The reasons being advanced are not justified if not laughable. These people are not fighting for Malawi but their own selfish motives to quench their political ambitions.

I personally love the fact that government is not stopping them from taking to the streets because this is their constitutional right as long as they abide to the laid down laws during the demonstrations. I believe that during the demos, security agencies will take charge and protect people’s lives and property without fear or favour.

Think about this; a number of those that are agitating for the demos served in the PP administration during which about K20 billion was stolen from public coffers but they all kept quite because they were busy benefiting from the loot.

Martha Kwataine served in the MACRA board and Macdonald Sembereka was working at State House shouting PP woyeeee! PP yanyamuka, odi ukooooo, amayi adutse! and we expect such people to talk good about the current administration? They will take advantage of any flows in the current administration to cause havoc.  

As Malawians we really need to question the morality of these people that are claiming to be representing the interests of the nation. We need to scrutinise the credibility of such people and their conduct before we give ourselves flat out to be used.

It’s a disappointment knowing that most of the times when these people organise demos they love using the youths to advance their selfish ambitions.

It’s now time for the youths of Malawi to rise up and refuse to be used by these selfish people. We can do better by becoming governments’ partners in development other than becoming agents of anarchy and disorder.

Time has come for the youths to fast realise that they have a role to play in shaping the future of our country as partners not as people that should be used by MacDonald Sembereka and company.

Our friends died on July 20. These were supposed to be productive youths but sadly some political machinery used them in the name of demonstrations.

As youths we need to be seen to be progressing in life and bring out something out of our lives. We need to demand for better lives. We need business opportunities, good education etc. Let these CSOs mobilise themselves to fight for youth empowerment in this country.

What will K5 million of NAC money that was donated to BEAM do to Malawi as compared to the K20 billion that was lost in the whole cash-gate fiasco? Let’s fight for a successful conclusion of the cash-gate cases not over an issue that seems to have come to an end after the Global fund cleared NAC of any wrong doing in the transaction.

I am very sure that Gift Trapence will also take advantage of the “unpopular” gathering to advance his gay motives, sunganeneletu amwene.

WAS PRESIDENT MUTHARIKA RIGHT TO DECLARE HIS 2019 CANDIDACY?.....

APM man in charge

Last Sunday president Peter Mutharika returned to Njamba Freedom Park where he took time to sell his agenda for Malawi now that he is operating from State House. He had to do this as way of saying “thank you” to his supporters for working tirelessly to bringing the DPP back into power. 
 

For the duration of the rally President Mutharika touched on a number of issues and reminded the people some of the DPP’s campaign promises and how he intends to fulfil them within the next five years.

What even caught the attention of many was his statement that in DPP there is no plan B or C for the 2019 elections and the declaration that he will be contesting for presidency. His statement was in bold “I will be contesting. If some of you thought otherwise, sorry wait for 2024”.

This statement seems to have been received with mixed reactions if what was reported in the media is anything to go by. 

The Daily Times of Tuesday, 2^nd September, 2014 carried a story under the headline “APM’s 2019 candidacy declaration questioned”. 

The paper quoted a Chancellor College based political analyst Josephy Chunga who faulted Mutharika’s declaration of his ambitions for 2019. Chunga says such an interest is bad for democracy as the party’s convention before the elections in 2019 will only “rubber stamp the position already secured”. 

Reading through the story I thought I would come across some moaning voices within the DPP but no, it was some two analysts who were only expressing their views and I wonder if these voices should be treated as representative questions that should query that 2019 proclamation by President Mutharika. It could have made much more sense if we heard the reaction of the party as well. Anyway, that’s the topic for another day.

This is not the first time I have heard people speaking like that. Even before the DPP’s convention last year people thought by declaring his interest to contest for the presidency in 2014 president Mutharika will only be rubber stamped. But no, there was former speaker of parliament Hennery Chimunthu Banda who challenged him in an open contest.

It seems like some individuals like drawing suspicions where there is absolutely nothing bloodcurdling.   By the way, who faults people’s ambitions anyway?

I am of the view that President Mutharika as a politician just like any other politician would do has ambitions. Its only human to wish for the better in life. Firstly he wanted to become the president of Malawi by contesting in the May polls. That was an ambition and it was achieved.

Secondly he hasn’t hidden his wish to work towards transforming this country by lifting it up from where it is now to some greater standards where we all have aspired to reach. That is an ambition that he would want to achieve.

Thirdly, what will stop him from even aspiring to contest in 2019 especially knowing that the constitution doesn’t bar him from doing so? Any other politician who is aiming high would gladly harbour such ambitions. Besides, in his declaration the president did not say he is an automatic choice all he was doing was simply making a declaration of his interest to contest.

By saying there is no plan B or C that means as a party they haven’t started planning for that yet. The party doesn’t stop individuals from contesting at the convention even challenging for the presidency. It’s the party’s convention that will decide on whether to come up with plan B or plan C at an opportune time, but now there is no such plan.

Therefore the question of president Mutharika imposing himself doesn’t even arise anywhere in his statement.

Reading deep into this statement all I could see was a president who was urging his supporters to join hands and work for the betterment of the country other than spending much of their energies in some political machinations and planning for 2019 with only 3 months after an election and with almost five years to go before we cast the ballot again.

This was a reminder to the people that time will come for campaign in 2019 but meanwhile he is the man in charge. Time for politics is gone; this is time to talk development. Not only that, but even if the DPP has individuals that are eying the presidency in 2019, he will be the man to beat and I see nothing wrong with that.

I find this declaration so transparent and helpful for the party as it parries away any form of speculation.

This is where I agree with one of the political commentators Timothy Mtambo who says  people will be better placed to judge President Mutharika in 2019 as to whether they would want to give him and the DPP another mandate or not depending on his performance.

This declaration is also good for democracy because now we know the president’s ambitions therefore as a nation we shall be closely monitoring his performance. 

The president himself will also be cautious in the execution of his duties because he knows people will be assessing him in keenness for 2019. This will spur him into action and help him perform for the betterment of Malawi.

I am of the view that as a nation we shouldn’t be spending much time debating about 2019 but rather let’s focus on what President Peter Mutharika is offering us. 

Democracy does not mean that one shouldn’t make his or her political ambitions known as long as it’s within  the constitution. It calls for transparency and accountability at all times. 

President Mutharika is being accountable and transparent to his people by not hiding anything from them. They should know what his wishes are now. 

It will be the people of Malawi deciding as to whether they would want him to continue or not because by standing on a DPP ticket, a party that is in government it’s not automatic that they will carry the day in 2019.

Evidence is there that even a ruling party can lose in an election. Therefore any undemocratic tendency that will cripple in the party will be dealt with by the ballot which speaks more words that the voice and power of any sitting president.