By Rick Dzida
Our constitution is actively draining Malawi’s national treasury. By framing the office of the Vice President as an automatic “President-in-waiting” who inherits the rest of a five-year term, the law builds a foundation of permanent political warfare.
Presidents view their deputies as ambitious rivals waiting for them to fall. This paranoia triggers aggressive state-funded sabotage, paralyses national policy, and scares away foreign investors who watch our top leaders fight instead of governing.
To rescue our economy and secure our democracy, we must amend the constitution. If a vacancy occurs, the Vice President must only serve for a maximum of three months. This brief 90-day window must be used exclusively to steady the nation while a fresh presidential election is organized.
Political instability is not just bad news; it carries an astronomical price tag. When the two highest offices in the land go to war, the taxpayer picks up the bill.
A flashback a bit, the bitter breakdown in 2004 between Muluzi and Malewezi fractured the executive branch during a critical economic transition.
Malewezi’s eventual exit to run as an independent candidate in 2004 split government attention. It stalled key economic policies and left a fractured state infrastructure.
In May 2006, Cassim Chilumpha was arrested on treason charges under Bingu wa Mutharika regime. Millions of state funds were diverted into decades of complex legal battles, heavy security details, and continuous house arrests. This dragged vital financial resources completely away from national development.
After Joyce Banda was expelled from the ruling party in December 2010 and formed the People’s Party (PP) in 2011, governance ground to a halt. Foreign donors withdrew critical budget support due to governance anxieties. This directly triggered severe fuel shortages, foreign exchange scarcity, and deep national economic pain.
Between 2018 and 2019, Peter Mutharika and Saulos Chilima relationship deteriorated so severely that the latter openly rebelled to run under the Tonse Alliance. The infighting created total policy gridlock. The government spent months frozen in survival mode rather than managing macro-economic growth.
Again,Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima feud led to the latter being arrested in 2022. It triggered social unrest, disrupted markets, and shook investor confidence. Following the tragic June 2024 plane crash, widespread anger over delayed search operations caused further political uncertainty, hurting local commerce including exorbitant expenses on subsequent multiple commissions of inquiry.
Now, let’s look at our current reality. The structural poison between President Peter Mutharika and Vice President Jane Ansah is creating a massive waste of public funds. The administration is maintaining a costly, broken setup just to keep her isolated.
Jane Ansah was stripped of her oversight roles in disaster management and public service reform. These duties were shifted to other offices, creating complex administrative expenses.
Regrettably, the state has frozen all funds to renovate her official office. Leaving state-owned buildings to decay creates long-term losses on public assets.
The presidency routinely ignores her, choosing to delegate costly official travel and state duties to the Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) Justin Saidi, line cabinet ministers, or the Second Vice President, Enoch Chihana.
Critics will claim that holding an emergency election within 90 days is too expensive for Malawi. But the long-term cost of a paralysed government is far higher than the short-term cost of a vote.
We can fund this swift transition cleanly by building a Democracy Stabilization Fund. The national budget must automatically allocate 1% of annual revenue into a locked, interest-bearing emergency electoral fund. If it goes unused, it rolls over, building an independent financial cushion.
Furthermore, the constitution must mandate that upon a vacancy, all non-essential state travel, international delegations, state banquets, and government vehicle upgrades are frozen for 90 days. This shifts immediate cash flow directly to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
In addition, we must establish standing agreements with international democratic partners. This ensures that biometric voting kits, logistics help, and election monitoring support are unlocked within 48 hours of a declared vacancy.
Indeed, we must strip the vice-presidency of its inheritance prize. If a vacancy occurs, the deputy must only act as a brief 90-day administrative bridge.
In conclusion, power belongs to the voters, not to an uneasy backup runner. Let us amend the constitution, force an immediate ballot, and end this expensive executive warfare once and for all!
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