Tag Archives: 2025 Chakwera SONA

Opinion, Politics

How Chakwera ripped off overburdened Malawians through SONA tours: APM departs from extravagance to revive economy

Maravi Post Author

By Yesani Chitsala

Soon after presenting his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February 2025, former President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera was on the road to Mzuzu where held a number of engagements with various groups of people, including the youth and chiefs.

Disguised as citizen engagements, these tours showcased achievements while burdening taxpayers with costs, including security, transportation, and accommodation.

But in essence, these tours were a stark example of misplaced priorities, draining public resources and exacerbating economic hardships for Malawians.

Presidential trips like Chakwera’s SONA tours should be tamed because they divert funds from critical sectors like healthcare, education, and infrastructure development.

In a country where 50.7% of the population lives in poverty, and 70% relies on agriculture with limited resources, such extravagance is unacceptable.

Group Village Head (GVH) Loti Chisambi lamented the huge cost Malawians incurred each time Chakwera met the youth and chiefs on petty issues like SONA, arguing the costs associated with these trips, estimated to be millions of kwacha, could have been used to provide medical supplies, construct classrooms, and improve rural roads.

A University of Malawi (UNIMA) economics lecturer, who asked for anonymity, described Chakwera’s SONA tours as a classic example of economic mismanagement.

“The resources spent on these trips could have gone a long way in addressing the country’s pressing socio-economic challenges,” he said.

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) lawmaker
Sylvester Ayuba James criticized Chakwera for prioritizing personal happiness and interests at the expense of the economic hardships of Malawians.

James said Chakwera’s actions suggest he was more interested in securing his legacy and popularity rather than addressing the real issues affecting Malawians.

“It’s a shame that the former president chose to indulge in such frivolous spending when his people were struggling to make ends meet,” he said.

In contrast, President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has chosen to depart from this extravagance, prioritizing transparency, accountability, and economic revival.

By working from State House, Mutharika saves public resources, auditing past contracts and reviving stalled projects.

This pragmatic approach offers hope for addressing the suffering caused by Chakwera’s policies.

“President Mutharika’s austerity measures are a welcome change. His focus on fiscal discipline and resource mobilization will help stabilize the economy and improve the lives of Malawians,” said Blessings Chisanga, an economist with the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN).

As governance advocate Undule Mwakasungula noted, “Mutharika’s approach is a breath of fresh air.”

GVH Loti Chisambi echoed Mwakasungula’s sentiments, saying the people like Malawi are yearning for leaders who put citizens first.

Business, Malawi

Chakwera rejects SONA accusations

Malawi News Agency (MANA)

LILONGWE-(MANA)-President Lazarus Chakwera has expressed disappointment over accusations that he was dishonest during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on February 14, 2025.

He was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday when he appeared before the House to respond to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Chakwera said those accusing him of dishonesty are doing so to gain some political mileage.

He has however said that he is not immune to mistakes just like everyone else.

“All Data that I presented concerning developments which are taking place in the country are true though some errors where made by the team responsible for these issues,” said Chakwera.

He further said the statement which was made by the Leader of the Opposition must be withdrawn as part of his speech, he accused him of lying to Malawians.

“I am committed to serving Malawians and have no time for lies. As a country, we need to come together to address the challenges Malawians are facing, such as hunger and the rising cost of commodities,” he said.

He stated that he is aware of some individuals who are deliberately sabotaging the country’s economy for political gain and to create the impression that his government has failed.

The president highlighted, that he has taken strong measures to address those who are intentionally harming the economy for personal gains.

Malawi

Chakwera’s youth interface on his state of nation address: A waste of time, effort, resources

Rick Dzida

It still remains mindboggling to note that President Chakwera chose to correct falsehood in his state of nation (Sona) address by engaging with the youth in an interface held recently in Lilongwe.

Other schools of thought surmised that the conversation between the President and the youth might have been staged to distract the innocent citizens from holding President Chakwera accountable for his lies in the sona.

Following the issue closely, let me agree with my fellow bonafide Malawians that the fact that Chakwera presented a sona in parliament, he is hereby obligated to answer outstanding questions in the very same venue.

It is further argued that members of parliament are the best custodians of citizen’s representation rather than the youth who are just prematurely desperate for economic opportunities including job availability.

It has transpired that Chakwera will also be holding a series of youth interfaces in Blantyre and Mzuzu on 27th February and 4th March this year.

One question that lingers is, why is President Chakwera interested in the youth all of a sudden after a recently failed sona?

The truth of the matter is that young people make up the largest and fastest growing proportion of the general population in our country. This may sound promising if the youth are targeted in view of the impending general elections.

However, according to the 2018 Population and Housing census, 51% of the Malawi’s population is below 18 years, the minimum voting age.

In retrospection, what did President Chakwera promise the youth in 2020? What promises to the youth has Chakwera failed to accomplish by this time?

Frankly speaking, president Chakwera made many significant promises to the youth in 2020. One of his notable commitments was to provide 1 million youth and women with capital to start their own businesses.

Chakwera also promised to create 1 million jobs by June 2021, which was a key part of his campaign during the 2020 Fresh Presidential Election.

It is now clear that the promise of providing capital to 1 million youth and women has been fully realized.

Similarly, the promise of creating 1 million jobs by June 2021 has obviously fallen apart given the ongoing concerns about high unemployment rate among the youth in Malawi.

Much as President Chakwera was eloquent at answering questions from the youth, it therefore remains a waste of time, resources and effort considering his unfilled promises.

Opinion, Politics

The cost of Chakwera’s fear to sack incompetent cabinet ministers, aides: False SONA

Maravi Post Author

By Sylvester Ayuba James

Last time, during the right of opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), when Nicolas Dausi was quizzed about the President lying to the nation on development projects, his answer was that the President does not lie, but he just commits an error of linguistic exactitude.

The whole presidency cannot lie. To him, ‘lying’ is too offensive and demeaning a word to use against the presidency.

Well, whether the whole President can lie or not, where he claims to have achieved something that is not there it must upset us all.

We must be worried. And it must no longer be blasphemous to say the President lied.

So as turns out, President Chakwera said a lot of things which are not there. For me, whatever it is, whether a lie or an error of linguistic exactitude, it is embarrassing. And I refuse to believe that it is accidental. That long recount of premeditated lies can never be anything accidental.

The only question to which I have no answer is whether or not President Chakwera was also consciously aware that some of those projects he spoke so proudly about are either non-existent or unaccomplished. If he was, that is a grave mistake. It is, to say the very least, one unpresidential thing to do.

But if the President says he was not aware and was just, purposefully or mistakenly, made to feast on lies and fabrications, we can only believe him if certain individuals that he hired around him are fired by him for dragging his otherwise holy house into this dung.

There are just no two ways about it. The President cannot disown this and still owns the architects of it.

In my private conversations about quality of leadership, I have always maintained that the quality of any leader is reflected in the people he appoints to surround him and in how much he tolerates their mischievous adventures that have a bearing on the integrity of his office.

This far, President Chakwera is known for being afraid of disappointing his friends by firing them, with only one exception.

It seems the President is so loyal to his errant men and women that he would rather have the whole ship list and take in water with everyone on board than relieve it of the burden of the appointed few.

However the President deals with this scandal, it is very embarrassing. It’s not something we must all frown at.

The President should have minded taking us back to the days of Peter Mutharika when he repeatedly lied to the nation that DPP had built 15, 000 security agents’ houses when none of them had been erected, despite the National Assembly constantly funding the project for some years.

He cannot sink so low to the level of DPP and Mutharika. It’s sad. It is disgusting.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor