Tag Archives: the Malawi Congress Party President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera.

Authors, Politics

Philip Kamangirah: Open Letter to Dr. Chakwera

Admin

Beloved Dr. Chakwera, the leader of opposition and President of the Malawi Congress Party. I greet you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

To begin with, I was very happy when you were elected as the President of the Malawi Congress Party during the Convention that was termed democratic. During the early days of your leadership, every member of MCP thought you are a game changer as your name slowly changed from Dr. Lazarus to Game Changer.

Alexander Lower wrote” when wealth occupies a higher position than wisdom, when notoriety is admired more than dignity, when success is more important than self respect, the culture itself over- values “image” and must be regarded as narcissistic “. Your Case is not different Sir from that of AGALATIYA, who started on a very good note and chooses to end up so badly.

It all started like a joke when you unexpectedly displayed your real character to the Senior Members of Malawi Congress Party. You surely started calling them other names like that of NKHOLOKOLO. As this was not enough, you slowly became your own Dictator who would never want to be opposed.

We all witnessed how you made Senior Members of the Party become victims even though they were democratically elected at the Convention. You started personalizing Party property, resources and many more. You have done a lot of harm to MCP that expected.

I may not be able to mention it all here. Just to remind you Sir, on 13th September, 2015 the Secretary General of MCP Dr. Gustavo Kaliwo wrote you a 9 pager letter in which he officially requested for an audience to resolve matters surrounding your leadership wrangles with other members of the Malawi Congress Party.

The letter was written after you spoke to each other on the 5th September,2015 and the NEC meeting was scheduled for 7th September, following a Court ruling by Justice Mkandawire. The rest is water under the bridge.

BREACH OF THE RULES OF NATURAL JUSTICE BY YOUR LEADERSHIP

As you very well know that democracy entails inherent competition of ideas, best ideas prevail and these are the ideas that bring political change. Great democratic leaders are those that embrace this competition of ideas, harness it and channel it to bring positive energy in the political establishment.

MCP is highly judged today because it failed on this basic democratic principle for the 30 year rule. It stifled democratic competition of alternative ideas. This is the legacy you volunteered to change and all your followers under your leadership should be united in order to bring such a transformation in Malawi Congress Party.

It is regrettable to note that you have never walked the talk. It is sad to realize that you have completely become a Dictator of his own making.

Mr. President, characters are like pregnancy, you can’t hide it, the adage goes. It is becoming more baffling to say that your leadership has failed to unite members of the MCP and instead you have divided the Party so miserably.

I potty you Mr. President you seem not to understand the difference between a church president and that of a Party President. You have run out of ideas as evident by your failure to effectively resolve the differences that are rocking your party. You have displayed malnourished leadership. You need to bring hygiene in your leadership and sanitize the rule of law in thus democratic dispensation.

If you want Malawians to trust your leadership, demonstrate now that you are an alternative. Learn to resolve things before going to court or even to international donors. Swallow the bitter pill by being tolerant and democratic if MCP is to survive the next election otherwise you are looming for destruction.

I am of the view that you shall change your ways and style of leadership for the sake of MCP.

Yours faithfully,

Philip Kamangirah

Disclaimer

The views contained in this letter are those of the writer who is the one of the concerned citizens in Malawi not of The Maravi Post.

Politics

MCP President Chakwera granted injunction against Kaliwo plans of holding MCP convention

Maravi Post correspondent
Lazarus Chakwera

Embattled Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Secretary General Gustav Kaliwo, risks arrest over contempt of court, if he proceeds with his plans of holding the Party’s convention between, scheduled by him to be held from 7 to 9 July, Maravi Post has established.

The development follows the High Court injunction, obtained by the MCP President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera.

The injunction, which was obtained through Chakwera’s lawyer Peter Chakwantha of Armstrong Lasers and Company, restricts Kaliwo from holding the said convention.

Chakwantha argues that Kaliwo’s organized convention, is against the MCP constitution.

Confirming this, MCP deputy spokesperson Eisenhower Mkaka, said according to the injunction, Kaliwo’s scheduled convention may occur only if the injunction is lifted.

Efforts to talk to Kaliwo proved futile.

However, Kaliwo who is lawyer by profession, told Maravi Post in an earlier interview that his convention was legal.

He said it is in line with article 40 of the MCP constitution, which mandates the district and regional chairpersons as well as the National Executive Committee (NEC), to call for the convention.

“Almost half of the district chairpersons, are calling for a convention, and the constitution allows me to organize it,” Kaliwo had argued.

MCP legislatures however, this week, asked Kaliwo to peacefully resign from his position. They argue that the constitution mandates the Secretary General to call for a party’s convention, after receiving blessings from the MCP NEC.

 

Politics

Mixed reactions on the 2017-2018 Malawi national budget; donors and oppositions hails it

Henry Chizimba
US Ambassador Virginia Palmer:  increase in funding Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Judiciary is a welcome development.
The2017-2018 Malawi national budget that was unveiled by the Finance Minister Dr. Goodall Gondwe on Friday, has received different reactions from Malawians, diplomats as well as the country’s development partners.While most quoters have hailed the budget, some have advised the Malawi Government not to misuse the funds collected for the budget.

Among the Malawians that have hailed the 2017-2018 national budget include the leader of opposition in Parliament, who is also Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Dr Lazarus Chakwera.

Chakwera said that the unveiled budget has shown that Government took the lives of Malawians at heart.

“Especially because of including the wishes and demands of Malawians in the budget, I therefore describe it as a budget for Malawians,” Chakwera said.

Some diplomats have described the budget as very encouraging.

For instance, the European Union’s  (EU) Ambassador Marchel Germann, and United States (US) Ambassador Virginia Palmer, said they welcomed the increase in funding, in particular, to governance bodies such as the Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Judiciary.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) country representative Andrew Mwaba, commended Government for increasing the funds to new initiatives especially in the energy and agriculture sectors.

However, the executive director for Karonga Youth for Justice and Development (KYJD) Steven Simsokwe, asked Government to put some strong measures that will protect the allocated funds from abused.

“As almost everyone is happy with the budget, I just want to caution Government not to misuse the funds,” said Simsokwe.

In his presentation, Goodall Gondwe said the 2017-2018 national budget aims to revamp the economic status of the country.

Through the budget, Government has introduced tax on subscriptions on television, a 35 percent tax on salary incomes of over K3 million a month, and an increase in allocations to governance institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Judiciary, Legal Aid Bureau, and the Office of the Director of Public Officers’ Declarations.