Written by Austin Kajawa
History has proved that never have there been a perfect human government. Whatever system has been adopted; human governments have faults just like human beings themselves are imperfect. James Wiser (1983) argues that, “politics involve an attempt by human beings to order their society in such a way as to establish the historical conditions which support the good life.” Similarly, Philip Wogaman (1988) defines politics as, “civil community ordering its life together on the basis of the public good.”
It is good to remind we that Malawi has a population of about 19 million people whose 80 percent of the population predominantly depend on agriculture and living in rural areas. The landlocked country in south central Africa ranks among the world’s least developed countries.
Recently, Malawi had just conducted its controversial election in which Tonse Alliance infatuations became the winners on MCP ticket. It was due to these glittering promises and cheap fertilizer being one of the heinous promises to have attracted many local Malawians.
The cheap fertilizer program introduced was a brilliant idea if seriously handled. Many Malawians in the villages voted for this sparkling promise that was shadowed in the glaring eyes of the poor and probably remains one of the iconic hammers to have defeated the predecessor.
However, it will be a shame to have started hearing that people are not buying that cheap fertilizer they voted for. To those Malawians who are ready to be civilized by the situation right now in the country and people’s views, then keep on following the program of “Democracy for Forum” on MJ FM Radio because MBC, Times and Zodiac can’t say it anymore the way they used to be before the handover of the powers.
The rainy season is already wavering and giving us a signal of winter cruising soil smell and this is really making Poor Malawians sleeping and fainting in different depots where so-called cheaper fertilizer is expected to be exported. The hope of the Malawians is that they buy cheap fertilizer, and this will make them burry down their long-time adversary that has made them called different names by politicians and those who report this catastrophic moment beyond the waters. Hunger is such a troubling enemy that poor Malawians fear most.
It seems “network” of the machines used when swiping the IDs of the Malawians as the only passage for the poor Malawians to buy cheap fertilizer is such a daring enemy that is more dangerous to deal with than hunger itself. It seems like this is the only excuse that Malawians can be told when they are sleeping and fainting in these subsidized fertilizer program depot places.
The question should be asked to Malawians themselves to whether they have enough time for another drama or may be these network claims failing Malawians to buy cheap fertilizer can be explained or we were bewitched and we should accept things that way forever?
Mediocrity is what has always been deployed in many political mouths when downgrading the opponents and then someone please tell me what the network excuses failing poor Malawians to buy cheap fertilizer are? Because Malawians thought that the promises made by Tonse Alliance relics were meant to make Malawians go through thoroughly services and systems that would at all cost relieve them from shackles of poverty faced and not that has always kept them frustrated and loose hope.
My plea to the Tonse Alliance government is that, if local Malawians do not buy cheap fertilizer this time and on time, let us then agree that we have just kept on creating problems than solving them. I would have advised government to take a decisive step to speed up the process and rectify all the problems faced by this program.
We cannot just keep on saying things, we need to do things. Much talk that give out the hope seem to be a different talk on the ground and yet someone wants to convince the hard working and practical lust Malawians that things will be alright. It should be the analysis of why my predecessors failed to do it on the ground and not on how I should speak well to do it for the sake of Malawi’s progress.
If not careful, it may sound that time has always been not changing however it is the systematic ways of fooling Malawians that have been changing since the inception of multiparty Democracy in Malawi. Is this the way on how we want to convince Malawians on what change is?
The overall values of a fair change should be seen and felt in helping poor Malawians address their concerns, problems and mostly their socio-economic challenges that should be the unquestionable change ideal to make the move plausible.
The words that Malawians should be made economically independent and Kudya Katatu should firstly start with having food security at home and not in our ideologies. Malawians are pleading with Tonse Alliance government to focus on the serious and realistic approach of implementation of programs and policies while overseeing them to make sure that the programs are working on the ground because it has to be nonetheless so.
The future generation might have saluted the progress of the ideologies on ground than the highest position matter that one once held in lifetime of this world. We are here as Malawians to be loved, taught and helped because we are all in transit therefore no one is or should be absolute to be worshipped but to fit and help filling the missed gap that the underprivileged are lacking.
This should be the Malawi that Malawians are looking for. Free from hunger and poverty. Malawians should see working systems of public services and not same old embarrassing obstacles.
In summarizing the ideas above, J.J. Ongonga, states that, “politics is about policies that work and policies that may not work. It is about ideas that work and ideas that do not. And it is about testing and retesting. This should be realised on the process of testing and retesting and the question should always be on how seriously is the Tonse Alliance government prioritizing the socio-economic needs of poor Malawians that are directly affecting them?
The Malawi we want!
Austin Kajawa, Zomba
Phone No. 0882337119
Email: austinmkajawa@gmail.com
