“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” — 2 Chronicles 7:14
All over the world a variety of forces are afoot threatening to dislocate in a tsunami fashion, the global platelets. In eastern Europe, Russia with all appearances of desiring to reconstruct itself to its former union of Soviet nations. In the US, one political party is red hot unraveling a culture of leadership the country has been at pains to spread around the globe. Locally, not to be outdone, Malawians are breaking bad top to bottom. To the people in these three areas, the big questions are: who do you think you are? How dare you interrupt the world as it sleeps?
Currently on the border of Ukraine (a former satellite of Russia when it was the Soviet Union), Russian soldiers are lining up tankers, in some parts of the international waters playing the bully games on underwater wires of sovereign nations like Norway. Someone needs to tell Russian leader Vladmir Putin to stop putting young soldiers (sent to the bullying centers) in harm’s way. Someone should tell Mr. Putin to act like a human being, get back to Moscow and put heating gadgets in 144 million Russian households. It may not make him the most powerful world leader, but it will make him the most popular in Russia.
I believe there would be less wars, if at the start of the war, the first to enlist were the leaders’ sons and daughters; if at the war front, the leader and his family would be at the front of the war lines, then all wars as we know them, would end, be non-existent.
There is a very alarming trend in America, once known as the leading and most democratic country in the world. The trend includes among others, changing voter laws in Republican controlled states, to a former president who is refusing to retire his Number 45 shirt, after 84 million voters made this a completed matter. To him, the message is: Please be a good sport, presidential, and retire, stop hanging-on, stop misinforming people that you won. POTUS 45 did not win the 2020 elections. More importantly, 45 and the members of his fellow party members should stop unraveling the democratic culture around elections, elected governance, and bully politics that are the resolve of dictatorships and other autocratic forms of governments.
This group of Americans need to ease up on racism, bigotry, and anti-women. Color-coded vote and ani-women laws are the worst forms of undemocratizing America, which is known as the land of the brave and the free. All this is embroiled with the complexity of COVID-19 vaccine- and mask-deniers, making politics an extremely unpolitical issue.
In Malawi, the issues are many: a back-biting officer, recalled diplomats, posted diplomats, crooks in high places, and a new-look cabinet. The country needs prayer, much prayer. Dissolving a corrupt-infested cabinet was a good first step in the prayer process.
To the Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General (DG), one should never gossip about one’s superior, it is a high form of disloyalty, disrespect, and a variety of other essential management tools. Additionally, Ms. Chizuma needs to learn whom to trust and what history teaches. The takeaway from the morsel of commentary from the confidant caused the President, appointing manager, to hold a presser on the ACB DG. He has been forgiving this time around.
On the matter of recalled diplomats, the government, while it is regrettable that issues involving diplomats are taken to the courts, it is worse to watch the government setting aside its responsibility for the international civil servants as set in the Versailles of Treaty, the Vienna Convention On Diplomatic Relations and others spell out the requirements. The news that the government expects currently recalled diplomats to leave their post countries without their belongings is overwhelming. No diplomat should be caused/forced to leave his/her posting station without his/her personal belonging: it is the international law.
On the matter of the posting of the President’s daughter, who is said to be very qualified, is not a good development. Malawi has many qualified people that could have been posted to the station. Frankly speaking, because she is qualified, the first daughter could be appointed as the head of an NGO or some other position; but for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to require taxpayer resources to finance the first daughter’s diplomatic posting is a big disappointment and hypocritical – it was wrong when Kamuzu did it, it was wrong when Muluzi did it, it was wrong when Joyce Banda, or Peter Mutharika did it, and it is wrong for President Chakwera to do this. The posting highlights that Malawi has failed in all the 25 years since becoming a democracy; it has not changed.
Malawi should have been ready to create a career diplomat pool. Its inability to do this is mainly due to nepotism, regionalism, envy & jealousy and other non-professional considerations..
On the other side of the coin, there are crooks in Malawi in high and low places; there is the malpractice where elected officials find themselves at the receiving end of bag fat envelopes, Stop this please. To this end, it was heart-warming to see President Chakwera relieve the Minister of Lands; this will allow the minister to respond to the charge: Elected officials, please correct your evil ways. Resist evil, and evil will leave you. Elected officials or appointed ones must learn to think like a servant: The officials are servants to 18 million Malawians and every time a corrupting official (usually from the north or the east
It must be said, the new-look cabinet, coming within one week of its dissolution, is a welcomed and promising one. Out of 12 ministers, five are women. This is the highest number of full-portfolio ministers, ever. The list has yet to enjoy additional names (forestry, information, finance and others). We are watching. May wisdom and grace abound in you.
To all the above mentioned global segments, you are all mortals; you are all in caretaker positions, you are all placed in your positions by your constituents, performing tasks on behalf of your people. Consequently, you must behave as servants and serve the interests of your people. Do not laud over them, do not let the people down!
Long live genuine democracy!
