We have a new government for close to a year now, it’s time to judge our president based on his performance and the commitments he made before he ascended to power.
For the ruling elites and those in the opposition,it will not be that easy to share the common view based on political differences, interests and ideologies but all the same, a fair conclusion will be arrived whether Mutharika has so far delivered or not delivered his promises to the people of Malawi.
For a starter, before Mutharika rose to power in the run to 2014 tripartite elections, him and the Democratic Progressive Party came up with their manifesto; a blueprint on how they would execute government business if given the mandate .From this background, this article is yet to answer the question, “ Is President Arthur Peter Mutharika delivering on his promises?”
On this same note, it must be know that each and every political party had its own manifesto and as we look critically in the Mutharikas administration,we will have a throughly scrutiny of what the President has done so far in reference to the DPP manifesto to measure the impact of his level of delivery..
When Arthur Peter Mutharika attained the presidency , the first thing that he did was to come up with a lean cabinet, this was amongst the things that he promised that once elected, he would implement.With a sober mind,we can’t start concluding that the president is walking the talk by just putting one thing into consideration, but by the end of this write up,a conclusion is yet to be reached.
In addition,when the DPP was in the run to elections, Mutharika and his team vowed to reform the public service in what was dubbed Public Service Reforms.When he ascended to power, Mutharika made his Vice President,Right Honourable Saulos Klaus Chilima, the champion of the reforms , we have seen so far several activities complementing the reforms which the president promised.With that in mind, is Mutharika delivering on his promises?
Just a few months ago, President Mutharika launched the Decent and Affordable Housing Scheme Program (DAHSP) in Lilongwe popularly known as the cement and Malata subsidy program.This is not an initiative which just came over night but it was amongst the things that the Peter Mutharika administration promised to do if elected.We have seen the project taking shape and beneficiaries reaping the fruits of the DPP administration within a short period of time of being in power,it is therefore to the populace to conclude whether the Mutharika administration is delivering on its promises on not based on this.
Furthermore, the DPP manifesto did not left aside the issue of youth empowerment and job creation to effectively use the youth of this country towards economic development.From this background, we have seen the Mutharika administration officially launching the community colleges program in the northern region.The youths who were hopeless are being given vocational skills and training from which after the completion of the course,they will be able to stand on their own and met their life demands as the DPP government promised.This is one of the things that Mutharika promised and its up to Malawians to decide whether Mutharika is a living example of leaders who keep their words.
As we are aware that a good road network and infrastructure development are amongst the things that make countries to progress economically .So far, Mutharika has kept his word as we had seen the official grand breaking ceremony for the construction of the Njakwa road and University of Mombera in the north.This did not happen by accident but it was surely promised by Mutharika and what is happening is just the fulfilment of what was promised.
Mutharika has also been a darling to those in opposition, his interaction with the leaders of different political parties has distinguished his political leadership from the previous leaders.As he usually puts it that political tolerance is very important in a democratic world, Mutharika has kept his word alive and his administration has not persecuted none of his opponents for what so ever political difference as the things have been like before.
Having taken an account of the Mutharikas administration so far , it is up to everyone to make his judgement whether the President is delivering on his promises or not.But if truth is to be told based on what has been said in the article, Mutharika is surely delivering on what he promised so far.And it is therefore my plea that the president continues keeping his words throughout his mandate.