From HardTalk
Your Excellency, you may recall that in March 2020, before the elections, when all indications pointed to your victory based on your teamworking and your campaign promises as an individual and those of your colleagues in the Tonse Alliance, and the overwhelming trust of the people, l had the honour to invite you to join Hardtalk and spelt out what Hardtalk is all about including partnering with the government of the day for Good Governance and making sure that a system of checks and balances was kept in place through the dual function of Hardtalk as a partner in progress with the government of the day as well its c critic, watchdog and pressure group, and always putting Malawi first and foremost all the time. Your Excellency responded in the affirmative and commented that the Hardtalk ideals “resonated well” with yours.
Almost 4 years on, l regret to say that you have let Hardtalk down. You have neither kept your campaign promises nor fully cooperated with Hardtalk on issues of National Interest.
You have shown a lot of nepotism and tribalism and regionalism.
Over 3 years ago UNESCO had slotted four places for Malawi which needed you or your government recommendations. Mzee got wind of it. That recommended just one candidate who had almost 20 years’ experience. Because that candidate was from the north, even after you saw the very rich CV, you never came back. There have been a lot of suggestions from Hardtalk and some through White Papers which have been ignored.
My President, repeatedly l suggested and even recommended that you fire your Chief of Staff because some of us saw that he was misleading you and even dragging you into corrupt activities and public appointments based on nepotism and tribe. The parastatal board appointments and senior civil servants are typical examples.
My President you were advised that your job is a job of National Trust, and you were expected to honour the will of the people by putting the right people in the right places and ensure that merit and the rule of law remained paramount in your decision-making process. However, this has hardly been seen to be the case.
I was literally embarrassed today that your government was sued for wrongful dismissal in the just released ruling of Brian Banda vs Attorney General case. Some of us did warn you about that dismissal. You did admit to Mr Banda at that material time that it was not you, but Mr Kapondamgaga who dismissed Mr Brian Banda. Where your Chief of Staff got such powers to dismiss a civil servant is not clear. What is clear is that Mr Banda who is from Blantyre had to be replaced by your fellow Chewa person. You did ‘fire’ Mr Kapondamgaga for a while but took him back. Even when he was dismissed, reports kept reaching Hardtalk that he never stopped signing memos to you. That dismissal was not genuine because he was never replaced.
Now here is the embarrassing bombshell. Following the due process of the law, Mr Brian Banda has been awarded MK103 million plus as compensation for “unfair dismissal” and this must be pained within 30 days of the court ruling. The court ruling took place on 22 December 2023. Your government is therefore required to meet the 22 January deadline.
In all fairness it should have been better if the MK103 million plus should have come from your pocket, Your Excellency or from the pocket of your Chief of Staff, Mr Kapondamgaga.
However, we on Hardtalk and indeed the entire nation of Malawi is watching to see whether or not our First Citizen can observe the Rule of Law.
I hope Your Excellency will not disappoint the whole nation that you lead by disregarding the Rule of Law given that you swore “to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi and to do justice to all manner of people” in the Republic of Malawi. “So, help me God”.
The whole nation witnessed that, and it will be embarrassing to see you disappoint.
The second point, Your Excellency is that you seem to have forgotten almost all the people who helped you most during your meteoric rise to power. People like Hard talker Chris Chains Banda whom l am told he is now a sorry sight while you bask in glory. People like Hardaker Newton Kambala who sacrificed a lot of his own personal resources to help you to power. People like Brian Banda whose media acumen made you a household name in all parts of Malawi.
Malawi was so galvanized to believe that a priest cannot tell lies. However, in all earnestness, Malawians were taken for a ride. Life is full of surprises. It was a huge learning cure not to trust and entrust anyone with wholesome leadership. Malawians became shorn lambs.
Another thing to note, My President is that telling the truth does not cost anything but just telling ONE lie needs at least telling TEN lies to support the first lie. Truth grows by arithmetic progression but lies grow by geometric progression.
Whatever happens from now, My President, l wishes you well and the best of health and much better and decisive leadership within reasonable time, fairness to Malawians of all tribes and ethnic groups and loyalty to the flag and nation of Malawi and always putting Malawi primarily all the time above personal or ethnic considerations.
Mzee