President Peter Mutharika came to the Malawi Presidency with lofty expectations as a respected 40 year law scholar at Washington University. Mutharika had worked in the area of international justice internationally. He is an expert on international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother, President Bingu WA Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President’s death on 5 April 2012.
During Mutharika tenure as Minister of Education, his leadership skills were tested over his handling of the academic freedom stand-off at the University of Malawi. University lecturer, Blessings Chinsinga, was questioned by the police chief, and later fired for comparing the economic conditions that lead to the Arab Spring events in Egypt to Malawi’s economic grievances in an example.
Faculty at the university stood in solidarity with the lecturer and went on strike in support for academic freedom. As a result, Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula now mouth piece for MCP, Blessings Chinsinga, Garton Kanchedzera and Franz Amin were fired. This led to widespread university protests from students, and the shutdown of the Chancellor College.
Handling of this issue became a national issue of debate. During the July, 20 2011 Malawi protests, a list of 20 points of discontent which lead to the demonstrations included handling of this stand-off as a key issue. The petition cited poor handling of the stand-off, including failure to secure academic freedom and reinstatement of lecturers as a major grievance. On 8 September, Mutharika was moved to Minister of Foreign Affairs, after having failed to resolve the educational crisis.
Maybe this should have been a warning to Malawians. During this crisis he showed UN willingness to make difficult decisions. While Bingu Mutharika with his autocratic leadership style was feared by many of his advisors Peter definitely as a young Brother should have had the courage and the resolve to have confronted his brother but apparently him never did as the issue was never resolved.
It is now apparent that all this experience appear to not have prepared him for the office he campaigned for and his own brother tried to pass to him by making him the anointed one leading to a bitter struggle with then Vice President Joyce Banda.
Six month into his Presidency, Peter Mutharika finds himself at cross-roads.
1 – The Kwacha is declining at a very fast pace affecting the daily lives of poor Malawians
2 – Water and Electricity rates are higher than they were before and taps run-out more often than before
He has raised his Salary and that of his Cabinet despite the President promising Malawians in August that he had no intention of reviewing his salary “anytime soon”. He is doing all this in a climate of judicial strikes for more money which he fails to resolve for lack of cash.
The Euphoria of his election is waning fast and many Malawians are question their vote for him. The issues affecting Malawi are so many. Some he inherited but many Are of his making. When Malawians elected Peter they expected him to do a lot better than Joyce Banda but if you took the temperature in the country today you would Find some who are now having nostalgia about the former global trotting President.
What Malawians are getting is a very un-decisive person. Appearing clueless at times and definitely out of touch. At a time many Malawians are struggling from the Declining Kwacha worst in the world resulting in higher prices for essential commodities he decides to raise his salary by a whopping 80%.
People living in cities are supposed to draw water from the tap. But not in Malawi’s commercial hub, Blantyre, where the number of people who wake up to dry taps everyday continues to rise.
The past six months have been the worst in Malawi’s major cities: Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu. In Blantyre, some residents have not had tap water for years because in their areas, safe, piped water is not available.
Teachers from primary schools around Blantyre as well as other parts of the country are boycotting work demanding their delayed salaries.
MEC has failed to pay policemen that guarded the poles six month ago.
The national wide strike by Malawi judiciary staff enters its fourth week with no resolution in sight. This strike is affecting one third of government services and thus has a real impact on the financial wellbeing of the country. Yet the President and his Justice Minister Tembenu appear to be no hurry to resolve this and make government operational.
With so many institutions threatening to strike our President and his cabinet should do everything possible to infuse cash in the economy. Even falling world oil prices fail to nudge the economy in a positive direction because of the falling value of the Kwacha against the Dollar and the Euro.
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe says no need for Malawians to panic because “this is not the first time for the kwacha to fall.” Mr. Gondwe who are you fooling? This is the time to Panic. You are in this position because supposedly the IMF holds you in high regard. Why have you failed to convince your friends at the World Bank and IMF to provide the necessary cash infusion that are needed?
Mr. President instead of giving yourself this undeserved raise. Work with the Finance Minister and the Reserve Bank to prop up the Kwacha and give Malawians relief in the price of commodities.
