By: Lloyd M’bwana
Some senior chiefs from the country’s central region have vehemently disputed calls for President Peter Mutharika to resign arguing that he has done nothing wrong to warrant his stepping down.
The defense comes barely a few days after northern region youths in city of Mzuzu on Monday, February 22, demonstrated and petitioned President Peter Mutharika to fix the country’s economic woes within 21 days or he must resign from presidency to pave of for capable individuals to run the shows of the state.
Central region chiefs have joined their counterpart in the south that also made similar cover on Mutharika saying the law was clearly that his term runs from 2014 to 2019.
Addressing the news conference on Thursday, February 25 in the capital Lilongwe, chiefs drawn from Salima, Lilongwe and Kasungu accused those calling the Mutharika’s resignation that it was done out of jealousy saying the hunger and ailing economy the nation was experiencing could not be dealt with through resignation but rather togetherness.
Central region chiefs under the banner, “Chief Forum in Malawi”, included Tsabango, Maliri, Chadza, (Lilongwe district), Kalonga, Nkhombedza (Salima district), Kaomba and Lukwa (Kasungu district) appealed for calmness among Malawians while the Mutharika was trying to fix the ailing economy.
“We were disheartening to here that our own children through Public Affairs Committee (PAC) all-inclusive conference calling the president to resign without asking us the elders. This is done out of hatred they have on the Mutharika. The hunger situation is due to unfavorable weather conditions as many didn’t harvest enough while the ailing economy is attributed to cash gate which angered donors to stop supporting us.
“Calling the president to resign won’t bring back food on the table but rather all of us coming together with ideas on how best we can walk out of the this economic mess. Therefore, as chiefs we won’t allow this to happen. Let’s give Mutharika time to run the country till 2019 if he fails to deliver then Malawians will judge him based on performance”, appeals Senior Chief Lukwa, the chair of press conference and also the Secretary of Chief forum in Malawi.
Before the press conference, chiefs were lodged at Lilongwe hotel (the venue hosted press briefing) which according to our sources government sponsored them as Vuwa Kaunda, Presidential Advisor on Nation Unity and State House officials were seen cheering up the chiefs prior to the function.
When asked as to where they were getting funds to hold the conference and other activities, Chief Lukwa trashed the allegation of government involvement in their activities saying the grouping was getting funds from well-wishers but he failed to mention them.
“Government isn’t involved in our daily activities. What we want is to unite Malawians as we are the custodian of culture and tradition. The current situation we are will go towards what our friends went through in Luanda as many lost their lives. We will go to every district with the same massage of oneness”, assures Chief Lukwa.
According to Chief Lukwa, Chief Forum in Malawi was established in January, 2016 whose current chairperson is Paramount Chief Mberwa of Mzimba aimed at providing insight to police makers on issues of national importance.
Pressure is daily mounting on President Peter Mutharika to fix the social-economic ills currently Malawians encountering which include maize crisis, insufficient of medical and drugs in public hospitals, high inflation and falling of the Malawi Kwacha which has resulted into skyrocketing prices of goods and services.
