By Saunders Jumah
If whatever we dream of could come out of the window from the shops, President Peter Mutharika could be the best President Malawi ever had.
According to the President’s world, Malawi is developing with 43kms to 102 kms bitumen roads. President Peter Mutharika blames the past for our present difficulties. What are we going to gain blaming dead people or past leaders?
Malawi is not in poverty or blackouts because of Kamuzu Banda, Bakili Muluzi, Bingu Wa Mutharika or Joyce Banda. It is in blackouts because you Mr. President, have failed to instil financial discipline in your government.
The window shopping you did in Parliament is good on paper and dreams, but not reality. You said you are resolving the country’s energy crisi in short- and long-term basis. However, was it not proper to just accept failure and promise rejuvenation or reawakening from slumber?
You may not know it, but it is best to tell and reveal to you the anger in the hearts of Malawi’s citizens:
when the nation goes 24 hours without electricity, when the nation drinks sewer water, when citizens die in hospitals because of lack of medicine, when small business enterprises close down because of high tax and less or no energy….
When teachers are excused from receiving their entitlement of salary on the dot, when senior people at State House and in Government are cutting lucrative deals at the expense of ordinary citizens, when Stahe House, led by you, watch and over-look discrepancies such as corruption, and state plunder, and you choose to systematically avoid mentioning it, when you place your tribe in each and every strategic positions in the government….
When you do not apprehend corrupt senior executives in your government, while doing the opposite to other political parties’ suspects and not do something to show that you are the President of the country with laws of the land intact…..
Everyone takes you for a joke, and your opening of Parliament speech as a “windo shopping speech.”
You bought us clothes with your mouth, while we dress in “masamba or masanza.”
You pat yourself on the back for an economic boom and infrastructure progress, without being ashamed of the reality on the ground.
You nearly entered into the shop, when you started to narrate the point of taking responsibility, but quickly went back to window shopping when you blamed others for your own mistakes and failures.
Mr. President had you managed to completely stop corruption outright, and put a ceiling against public plunder, your speech based on whatever you said, could be regarded as the best foundation and a basket of food.
To listen to your full speech, without mentioning the diseases that are going to kill your government, which are cashgate of MK92 billion stolen by late Bingu Wa Mutharika, MK577 billion stolen by the 7 ministers, seventh name being rumored to be yours, failing to tell the truth about the procurement of generators that leader of opposition Dr. Lazarus Chakwera revealed and apologize to the nation for lying or being misled by your operations officers….
Failing to arrest any of the culprits that are stealing State funds on a daily basis from your line ministries and departments, has automatically detached you from Malawi and its citizens.
Every day we see an “enemy of progress” in you. Malawians are saying it is more intelligent to count two birds in the bush than a pot of empty okra in the house.
The speech of the 47th opening of august House, could make more sense if you could stress that “by leading by example, your government wil arrest all persons involved in corruption and cashgate scandals.”
Otherwise, citizens are done with you, they do not need you anymore. You may try to sweet-talk citizens and the country, but citizens have completely changed, if elections were held tomorrow, the humiliation you would face could make you lose 85% and remain with 10 members of Parliament and lose your presidency.
Your Excellency Mr. President, if you are taking a step forward to do what is stressed above maybe you can be voted for a rerun to reach another vote.
Your Excellency, your ambitious plans over Malawi are from the fantasy world not reality, make them come true.
You are urged to come down and start facing the reality on the ground, so that citizens will feel the sense of belonging and become more hopeful.
Till then your speech on the 47th session of Parliament, was a mask to fool the citizens.
Malawi is ready to support and work with you, only if you stop lying and start to tell the truth; arrest your ministers and supporters breaking the laws.
Saunders Jumah is a regular Maravi Post Contributor and works as the of the MAENGA Group, a political activist entity.
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the Publisher or the Editor of the Maravi Post.
