By Joshua Mphanda
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Analysts from various quarters in Malawi have faulted the year 2017 as a loss and given a damning assessment of the President Peter Mutharika government noting that the negatives outweighs the positives as we head towards the end of the year.
The high cost of living, rampant corruption in government and the infamous shooting down of the electoral reforms bills by government which would have seen the president being elected by a 50+ % were among some of the reasons the analysts gave.
Executive Director for Centre of Human Right and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Timothy Mtambo painted a gloomy picture of government in terms of governance and development citing that institutions like the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) and Malawi Communication Regulation Authority (MACRA), target private institutions and the perceived enemies of the state.
“We have not moved in terms of development, people are still feeling a lot of bites in terms of taxes. Interest rates are high and businesses are actually falling. If you can see, the cases of corruption are escalating in the country and the institutions are weak and still under the influence of government like MACRA and ACB,” said Mtambo.
MACRA came under fire this year for targeting private media houses and trying to censor them for what the Communication body perceived to be ”unfair commentary” on the government when the state broadcaster which carries government propaganda was let scot free by the body despite its biased coverage.
Mtambo further warned that Malawi risked collapse in 2018 as the Mutharika led government lives a lot to be desired claiming that the Maize Saga involving the ruling party’s heavyweight George Chaponda and ACB delay in handling the matter shows that as a country we are not doing well and worsening daily.
Reacting on the matter Chairperson for the pressure group dubbed Transformation Alliance, Moses Kunkuyu disclosed that despite government preaching that the economy is doing well but Malawians are suffering and there is nothing substantial on the ground.
“We saw interest rates going down and government claiming that inflation rate is down too though that has not been reflected on the living standards of people as most Malawians are still struggling. Persistent blackout have crippled the macro-economy of the country because many people cannot engage in economic activities and businesses have shut down,” said Kunkuyu.
The Political Arena was not without its fair share of up and downs as politicians washed each other’s dirty linen in public with the election fever hanging around the corner.
Chancellor College Political Analyst Ernest Thindwa branded the political rivalries as well as internal challenges describing them as challenging for development of the country noting that politics is hindering development.
“Political parties instigated violence against each other on a minor scale and we have a problem in reforming our political system. There has been a general consensus that we need to change our electoral rules so that they become more inclusive unfortunately that was shot down by government. Almost all political parties have internal challenges, you have internal divisions in UDF, in DPP, in Aford, MCP and political parties are key in moving forward our democracy,” said Thindwa.
Commenting on the matter, outspoken Minister of Information and Communication Technology Nicholas Dausi differed and heaped all praise on president Mutharika claiming the DPP government has so far achieved a lot.
“2017 has been a year of success and government has delivered what Malawians expected like economic and infrastructural development. For the first time in the history of development we have managed to pull out economic development without donor support or budgetary support. We have the highest ever foreign reserves,” claimed Dausi.
Dausi further dismissed Mutharika’s critics who accuse of him of being reclusive and indecisive reminding them that the president oversees a lot of institutions and the DPP has achieved most of its campaign promises.
With a high cost of living, shortage of water supply, reduced productivity due to the rampant electricity blackouts as well as theft of public resources, it remains to be seen how far Malawi can go in 2018 as government continues to give a rose image of Malawi despite the challenges on the ground.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” Joseph P. Kennedy once said.
