Tag Archives: Malawi leadership crisis

Opinion, Politics

Malawi is still looking for a transformational Leadership

Maravi Post Author
Tonse alliance is falling

By Burnett Munthali

There is a serious debate going on everywhere in Malawi as we speak. Malawians are not happy with rampant government corruption, lack of commitment to deal with corruption decisively, over expenditure, the rising cost of living of essential commodities, excessive travels of the President within and abroad with bloated entourage fuel shortages, lack of forex, and electricity outages. It is a well known fact that a President wins an election using his party manifesto.

However, the citizens of this country are looking for good leadership, just two years down the line after Chakwera won a controversial fresh presidential election which was challenged in court in 2020.

They need Leadership which is able to influence and guide the people of this nation.

Whatever it takes, wherever that leader may come from, Malawians are looking for leadership that can transform this nation. They are tired of corruption, excuses and speeches by the President and his cabinet ministers now and again without anything to show.

It does not matter anymore whether a good leader will come from the Malawi Congress Party, Democratic Progressive Party, United Democratic Front or United Transformation Movement. Malawi is moving away from party politics to leadership politics.

The voice is loud and clear that many would not like to continue with the current leadership of Dr Lazarus Chakwera. Malawians are very disappointed, fed up and furious with MCP leadership because of its inabilities.

Apparently, there are 4 types of leadership: Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez-faire, and
Transformational Leadership. As for Chakwera, he is a laissez faire leader.

Malawi today is looking for a leader with good leadership qualities. Speaking American English alone ,in a decent suit is not sufficient.
The citizens of this country are looking for someone who is focused, mindful, deliberate, consistent, strategic, willing to admit when he is wrong, and teachable.

All the noise flying around is because the people of this country want a President that possesses self-awareness, garner credibility, focuses on relationship-building, has a bias for action, exhibits humility, empowers others, stays authentic, presents himself as constant and consistent, becomes role model and is fully present.

President Chakwera has the attitude of trusting and relying on his subordinates. He doesn’t micromanage or get too involved, he doesn’t give too much instruction or guidance. Instead he lets his cabinet use their creativity, resources, and experience to help them meet their goals.

Malawi is searching for Transformational Leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. A leadership that creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into happy and successful individuals.

Vice President Saulos Chilima declared himself a transformational leader, when he broke away from the DPP in 2018, who said he had come to do transformational politics. I noticed later that he was far away from what he was saying.

Malawi, as you read this, is looking for transformational leadership which is idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration.

This generation is looking for
Transformational leadership for inspiring individuals to succeed. They want transformational leadership that recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of individual cooperatives or groups of Malawians and realises that each Malawian works to their capabilities.

Reverend Chakwera is an example of laissez-faire. He stands back and lets his cabinet make decisions and lets them set their own deadlines. He doesn’t offer much feedback. In Tonse government: Dr Chakwera exhibits laissez-faire leadership leaving decisions to subordinates and provides little direction.

Let’s have a look at Church leadership where Reverend Lazarus Chakwera is coming from and was President of Assemblies of God for more than twenty four years. This will probably give us an insight why we have this kind of a leader today.

Church leadership is about serving others in accordance with Christ’s interests so that they can see and accomplish God’s purpose for them in the world. A church leader needs qualities that influence and morally support the congregation, the volunteers, and others within the community.

A good church leader must have the following qualities and leadership skills:

Love, Modesty, Self-development, Motivation, Correction, Integrity, and Follower of God’s Will.

Although the heart of leadership according to scripture is servanthood (Mark 10:42-45), the Bible also teaches that legitimate leaders have authority, in the sense of a right to direct others. This authority comes from God and is delegated to leaders for the good of the church.

The main aim of having Christians get involved in politics is not just for them to represent the church in the government, but more importantly to address the challenges.

The key role the church plays/can play in politics is through its prophetic ministry. “Prophetic” here means speaking into policy, structure, or issues in the name of God and Christ, or on behalf of humanity in general or of a community in particular. Therefore, I wish to say that I don’t understand the reason Chakwera is a laissez faire leader. He isn’t a good leader for Malawi.

Catholics are instructed to participate in the political process, be informed voters, and to encourage elected officials to act on behalf of the common good. There are, however, limits to official Church political activity.

There is a relation between religion and politics. But religious beliefs and practices also potentially support politics in many ways.

The extent and form of this support is as important to political philosophers as is the possibility for conflict.

Moreover, there has been a growing interest in minority groups and the political rights and entitlements.

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

Malawi

I pity Peter, I mean president Peter Mutharika

Maravi Post correspondent 3 Comments

Devastated. Demoralized. Destroyed. That’s what the President of Malawi Peter Mutharika is now. To say the truth, the president is so lost that there is no hope of him finding the right path.

Pres, Peter Mutharika: devastated, demoralized, destroyed.

President Peter Mutharika should have known that he was voted into office by the minority; and that he would not be president today were it not for the first-past-the-post. If this truth had dawned on his mind, Peter Mutharika would have known that he is unpopular among Malawians. He should have thus done everything in his power to win the souls of those Malawians that did not see the president in him to start seeing the president side of him.

I pity Peter Mutharika; instead of giving Malawians that did not vote for him confidence in his leadership style, he has only succeeded in antagonizing these Malawians even further. In the end, Peter has chosen his cronies over Malawi.

So Peter Mutharika is no longer Peter Mutharika. He is a caricature of himself. He is no longer himself because he has sacrificed that ever identified him as him for his cronies.

Today, what president Peter Mutharika does is not what he believes in or what pleases Malawi as a country but he is doubly willing to do what pleases his cronies. When he wants to take an action and his buddies complain “Oh no Sir, that might hurt me or honorable so-so” Mutharika reverses the action pronto.

I very much pity current president of Malawi, Peter Mutharika. He is so much lost into protecting his buddies whilst caring less about himself and the people on whose trust he governs the country. That is why he is ready not to suspend the Agriculture Minister Dr Goerge Chaponda maizegate. He is ready to be the bad man for Chaponda; after all he’s his closest and most trusted buddy!

I do really seriously pity Peter Mutharika. He’s just there: seated. His buddies—call them whatever suits them: ministers, deputy ministers, principal secretaries, directors, boards of parastatal organizations etc.—are buddies sneaking their dirty hands in government coffers but president Mutharika is just watching.

His buddies steal. He gets the bad name and does not care a second about it. He does not raise his finger against anyone let alone fire them but, quiet sadly, goes on a mad rampage defending them. This tendency gives momentum to the thinking that Mutharika might be an abetter and not a crusader of corruption.

I pity Peter Mutharika. He is so detached to the larger Malawi population and, at this rate, his chances of bouncing back in 2019 are becoming slimmer and slimmer by the second.

I pity the president of Malawi. Only if he would start listening to the voice of reason would he be able to save himself and serve Malawians better.

I very very much pity Mutharika. He is a president who is so withdrawn from his people. He is so distant. So closed. So impersonal. He is a president who is more well-known by the four walls of Sanjika/Kamuzu palace and his manipulative inner circle than by the Malawi public. Indeed, if I were to ask you who Peter Mutharika is your quickest answer would be “The President of Malawi” and you stop there. There’s just nothing much we Malawians know about him. In other words, Peter Mutharika is a hermit.

I pity Peter Mutharika. He is the president of Malawi, yes, but we Malawians do not really feel it that there is a president in Malawi the way we did with Kamuzu Banda with his autocracy; Bakili Muluzi with his jokes; Bingu wa Mutharika with his arrogance; and Joyce Banda with her trial-and-error leadership style.

Malawi

Imagine the year 2017 without DPP

Maravi Post correspondent

For once Malawians, imagine what the warm heart of Africa—Malawi—can look like in the year 2017 without Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Did you imagine a Malawi free from damage and dirty; free from poverty and parochialism, a Malawi free from pontification, and propaganda?

Pres. Mutharika’s DPP: imagine the year 2017 without DPP

Surely, the year 2017, without the ruling DPP, can be free from Damage/Dirty (D). For sure, we Malawians are fed up with a political party that cause damage in its wake. A party that smears the nation with dirty.

The starting point here being the infamous MK500-billion-now-reduced-to-MK200-something-billion DPP-orchestrated cash-gate. If DPP wants to be seen as a clean party then let it let the seven rotten ministers the ruling DPP is shielding defend themselves in the court of law. The court of law declare them what they truly are—guilty or innocent.

Can you imagine how that MK200-something-billion DDP cash-gate gave the impetus to the now cacophonous Peoples Party (PP) MK20-something billion cash-gate? And, as if MK200-something-billion was not enough damage, the DPP are into it ‘cash-gating’ again. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) trip was not and has not been accounted for. This is another cash-gate.

The Mzuzu City Council double allowances scandal in a DPP dirty that has to be washed. The double retirement packages at the Malawi Law Commission is also another DPP dirty that has to be cleaned. And the trending maize-gate is another cash-gate style dirty that evidences that DPP is synonymous with damage or dirty.

Not only will a DPP-free 2017 will be free from damage or dirty, it will also be free from Poverty and Parochialism (P). Just think about it. If indeed the PP-attributed MK26 billion cash-gate could have solved a whole lot of the mess in our education and health sectors among others, Malawi would certainly be somewhere higher in the development ladder if the DPP-attributed MK200-something billion was not looted as is allegedly proved in the ‘classified’ evidence. If MK200 billion were not looted, Malawians would not be this poor.

And then come the parochialism in DPP. DPP, for obvious old buddies reasons, is narrow-minded so much that it thinks there is literally no one in Malawi competent enough to run some ministries or departments or take certain positions in government apart from its cronies. And its folly is expecting different results. Folly indeed!

Even truer, without DPP the year 2017 will be free from Pontification and Propaganda (P). Have you had time to analyze speeches by DPP gurus? If not, take your time some time now onwards and do it. You will, most likely, come to the same conclusion that DPP gurus pontificate i.e. talk in a pompous manner. Suffice it to say that DPP gurus talks as if they are the only ones most intelligent, competent, and powerful.

On this point, think about the newly-appointed Minister of Information Nicholas Dausi and his “I’ll not be speaking everyday like a parrot” remarks. What about Agriculture Minister George Chaponda’s “I’ll not resign” remarks over his involvement in maize-gate? The point here is that DPP party politburo pontificate.

In addition to pontification, DPP party heavyweights also take every opportunity to misinform the masses with a calculated intention to strengthen DPP’s political standing. But the question is: “Who said that being a ruling party requires propagandizing everything?” There are certain things you do not chase propaganda. Things like the president’s health, the maize-gate, the appointments and so many others.

And we come to the conclusion that without the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) the year 2017 would be free from Damage/Dirty, Poverty/Parochialism, and Pontification/Propaganda (DPP).

But, and that’s the big question here, would such absence of DPP make Malawi any better? Of course. Isn’t this obvious? Wouldn’t Malawi be better here? Imagine a Malawi where no money is ‘cash-gated’, where appointments are made on merit, where not everything is propagandized, where the president respects the citizens because s/he knows that the presidency is held on trust? Imagine a Malawi of that nature.

So, yes Malawi would be better in 2017 without DPP. But more importantly, she would be best if no ruling political party—be it DPP, MCP, PP, UDF, Petra e.t.c—ever rules Malawi with damage/dirty, poverty/parochialism, and pontification/propaganda.