Malawi needs a listening President in 2019; The queue is too long for one position

By Saunders Jumah

Despite President Peter Mutharika facing another “open defiance and mass protests on the 7th September” where he is asked to step down for being un-listening President.

The “queue” contestants for the presidency for 2019 is getting long, a number of men and women are vying for the position that the incumbent President Peter Mutharika has almost failed.

Opposition parties and their contenders are at their best with propaganda, they say if we vote them into power in May 2019 they will change things in Malawi.

The question that comes to mind of citizens is “All of you have a solution to Malawi’s problems? If you have a solution and solutions why are you all with different flags running for one position?

Why not unite or establish a coalition to fight one common enemy?

Some of the opposition parties and contenders are lying to citizens.

You are aware with the archaic and tribalism system of “First Past the Post” our country follows, a long queue for the presidency will render the incumbent President Peter Mutharika a smooth “win”.

Why contesting instead of featuring one opposition candidate?

Malawians must not be fooled.

We know, not all of you in opposition are after changing Malawi, your intentions and motives are to split the votes (though) you are aware you have no support nationwide.

If President Peter Mutharika has failed and that all of us are disappointed with him over how he is lip-servicing corruption and state looting taking in mind he blocked the universally recommended 50+1 electoral amendment bill why are you in opposition not merging and come together and show Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President Peter Mutharika that with or without the bill but coalition of opposition parties will do 50+1?

Do not point fingers of accusation to others when you have similar mistakes.

Let us conclude that all of you from opposition are jealousy of the luxury President Peter Mutharika is living, you are salivating on the theft and corruption that DPP and President Peter Mutharika are enjoying without being caught or questioned.

Let’s say you are envious of the quick riches that President Peter Mutharika and his team are accumulating so you are in the race for that.

Do not cheat citizens.

If you really love this country and that you want to save this nation from the thieves and looters the first thing you could think of is uniting all opposition parties, feature one candidate to face President Peter Mutharika for we are all sure that doing so will result in citizens removing the government of thieves from power and seeing the liberation of this country.

This calls for all opposition parties from MCP, PP, Aford, Depeco, Mafunde, Petra, Mgodi, LCP, ADD, NAFOC, CCF and all independent candidates to come together and present one candidate so that 2019 will be a rennaisance and new beginning of our nation.

In 1993 there was fear that opposition parties in Aford, UDF, UFMD and others could not make it to defeat the strongest MCP under Kamuzu Banda.

Out of our willingness to remove dictatorship, a pact was agreed we all stood as one and faced Kamuzu Banda with one candidate (Bakili Muluzi).

True to our calculation we defeated the incumbent then.

Malawi is furious with DPP and President Peter Mutharika the way they have ran the country for 4 years.

The bad deeds have overrun the good.

Knowing they have what it takes to rig elections or manipulate the will of the people with stolen money, there is need for history to repeat itself. (Opposition coalition)

We must establish coalition to face one common enemy of corruption and state looting, if we on the opposite side are clean from the vice.

After elections of 2019 all winning parties will embark on establishing what Maenga call “institutional state” where institutions will be made more powerful than the President or one individual.

Bringing or instituting the rule of law in Malawi and good governance does not need one party winning elections in this country because the ground for abuse is fertile and conducive for one ruling party and President.

This is why a coalition government is required to institute new laws including the deniable 50+1.

Expecting that if DPP or MCP even PP wins elections alone in 2019 there will be reforms is expecting the devil to enter a “Church House” meaning impossible.

Let us love our nation and its future by thinking collectively not individually.

For 54 years Malawi has been led by individual minds. From 2019 we need collective minds so that our statecraft is given “New Settings” where citizens will fall heir not individuals.

This dictum is engaging all in government to think why citizens are unhappy with it, why citizens are staging nationwide protests on the 7th September?

On the other side of the coin opposition parties are engaged to think for the country and be different from the ruling party.

We have seen and we are yet to see new manifestos for 2019 but do not cheat citizens we know those are just fake visas to get you at Plot number One.

Once you get there you will throw your manifestos in the dust him and start doing what DPP and President Peter Mutharika are doing.

President Peter Mutharika drafted a beautiful and attractive manifesto in 2014. It is a pity such a beautiful document is now in the dust bin. No opposition party can claim to be more “Angelic” than DPP and President Peter Mutharika.

We need a coalition government in 2019 or a government of national unity in 2019 for all of us to start remaking and re-institutionalize our system of government.

We do not need to keep regretting; Malawi has a house of thinkers, we just need to swallow our pride and accept “individually we have been failures but collectively we can do better.”

Saunders Jumah is a regular Maravi Post contributor works for MAENGA;

His views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of the Publisher or the Editor of Maravi Post