Open letter to Malawi Pres. Mutharika on Corruption

Dear Mr. President

I am writing to you in desperation as a Malawian citizen deeply concerned about the pace, that some of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have forced you to take towards 100 percent tolerance to corruption. I write with a heavy heart for the many men, women and children whose living standards have completely changed for the worse due to corruption which has been perpetrated by the gangsters masquerading as “ruling party” officials of any regime in this already impoverished country.

If I had any other practicable and convenient channel of communicating with you, I would have graciously explored it. Accept my sincere apologies if you are discomfited by my resort to public engagement through this open letter.

Mr. President, you being a Law Professor, I cannot dare explain the evils of corruption; because if I give ten, you are going to give extra twenty. Mr. President, it would be good of you if at this juncture you remove your DPP-earphones so as to get my message as Head of State.

His excellence sir, corruption is killing our country big time and it has made our country to stuck in the mad. Interestingly, curbing it seems to be as simple as catching a broiler chicken, but this mainly depends on you. The fact of the matter is that siphoning and plundering of public funds is always initiated by the ruling party, and that’s more reason People’s Party (PP) also had their share in the two years they were in government. Mr. President, now we have DPP, a party blessed with all characters: crooks, thieves, tricksters, gangsters and of course some innocents though more patience is needed to see them.

Mr. President, there are revelations that the senior cabinet ministers have been implicated in what was initially K577 billion cashgate scandal—now reduced to K236 billion. Anyway, that is a rumour and no one has come up with concrete evidence to substantiate the same. However, what baffles some of us with well frame of mind is the way you swiftly responded, defending the so called ‘rotten ministers’.

I agree with you that, as a head of state you cannot implement policy decisions based on rumours. But the question is who is making it to be a rumour? Your guess is as good as mine: it’s you Mr. President. Few days ago you ordered the arrest of the ‘Nsanje Hyena’ based on media reports. We expected the same urgent response when media reported that your aides had a hand in K236 billion cashgate scandal. In this case you could empower the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) just as you promised in your manifesto to do their job so as to bring the culprits to book.

Unfortunately, you resorted to spiting venom at Malawians with good will who were denouncing the malpractice, labeling them as comedians not fit to tackle governance issue. One could clearly see the signature of your selective justice, bad politics and error in judgment in the name of shielding DPP zealots who have nothing to offer to this country but milking the already shrinking government pulse. But that was your missed opportunity to show your seriousness in fighting corruption. History of corruption in this country has it that the government of the day is always the major player and this time around is your party. So if you are really serious with the battle against corruption then be ready to fight your own aides or stop preaching zero tolerance to corruption.

Mr. President, I shed unfeigned tears when I hear you shielding corrupt individualsbecause that night you were declared as a winner, I slept like a little baby because I felt that a responsible, incorruptible and courageous leader had finally emerged in Malawi in my lifetime to lead our country out of the precipice. Should we conclude that you hid your true colours?

Mr. President, these rotten ministers you are shielding should not cheat you that they are the ones who made you to be where you are. No! Malawians from all sectors and sections of the country, male and female; young and old; rural and urban settlers; elites and illiterates; all contributed in their own ways to your success, with very high expectations beyond what is practically possible.

If I were you his excellence, I would order ACB, the office of the auditor general and parliamentary public accounts committee to investigate thoroughly soon after getting the wind of ministers implicated in the cashgate. That press statement was just a clear indication that you are against the wind of progress sweeping across the world in the fight against corruption.

Corruption is rampant among politicians and senior government officials. And this is what makes the whole idea of public service reform a mere dream simply because your aides are the key beneficiaries of the ineffective and inefficient public service. Your aides, if not you inclusive, know pretty well that better Malawi for all means hard times to them. That is why as Vice President SaulosChilima was busy searching for few Kwachas through head counting of civil servants to trace ghost workers, the government machinery gathered confidence to go for a shopping spree in U.S.A regardless of the shrinking government pulse. Such trips are the outlets of corrupt money!

Mr. President, the government of the day makes it possible that they have puppets in strategic positions (cash inflow and outflow points) and these are the ones making the whole government system putrid. This madness must be put to a halt once and for all if we are to register progress in our country.

Mr. President, you came in Malawi smart and your desire, I believe, was to see a changed Malawi but your hopes, our (ordinary citizens) hopes are in danger because when I look around you, I see a militant selfish group, hungry for money. Within two years they have managed to induct you into archaic politics which is about insulting opposition, social commentators and even religious leaders once they hold dissenting views.

But ask them their achievements after working with BakiliMuluzi, BinguWaMutharika and now you. They will just tell you that they have managed to build mansions and get employment for their relatives and of course killing Robert Chasowa gruesomely.

Mr. President, corruption is evil, corruption is victimizing innocent ordinary citizens, corruption is making Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) ineffective, corruption is what makes civil servants receivingpeanuts;corruption has made Malawi to be an evil forest for ordinary Malawians- always in perpetual battle against the evils of leaders.

As a learned lawyer, I hope you would want to leave a good legacy that will stand the test of time. The ball is in your hands; deal with corruption without seeing the monkey in the face. Remember, your late brother Bingu got a landslide victory in 2009 because of the works of his hands not archaic politics which is taking centre stage in the DPP.

“A leader should always be open to criticism, not silencing dissent. Any leader who does not tolerate criticism from the public is afraid of their dirty hands to be revealed under heavy light. And such a leader is dangerous, because they only feel secure in the darkness. Only a leader who is free from corruption welcomes scrutiny; for scrutiny allows a good leader to be an even greater leader.” Suzy Kassem.