Even though we have been tilting at this particular windmill for sometime now, given the deaf ears of our political leaders, we must keep hammering away at this point until there is evidence that at least some small morsels of this important truth have finally been swallowed and digested.
The question that has been asked over and over again is why there is so much furore over the role of running mate (or potential vice president) in our political parties when precedent has so well demonstrated that this is a nothing role, with zero potential for influencing executive policy and the direction our country.
Think about it.
If ever there was a vice president that stepped into the role with so much potential and goodwill, it is the current one, yet so far, the best contribution he has managed are a few tasty sound-bites; “Njoka Saweta” (we do not keep poisonous snakes as pets), and “tisamangochemelera zilizonse” (We should stop applauding silly things), and parading himself at charitable events like basketball, golf and bike riding. Sexy as that may be, a vice president parading himself about like some kind of celebrity contributes very little to the bigger issues of national development.
Is it this celebrity jazz that has Sidik Mia, Richard Msowoya and all these politicians of ours clamouring for the vice presidency?
Should we get prepared to see Sidik Mia or Richard Msowoya in shorts and T-shirt playing basketball as Chakwera leads the country should the MCP be victorious in 2019?
The vice presidency is not a celebrity position to be used in charity events or to raise awareness for neglected causes. This kind of celebrity limelight should be left to the first lady. The vice president should be involved in finding solutions to the country’s challenges. It is a testament to the emptiness and vacuity of the role that when the vice president is in the spotlight, it is only because of mundane caused such as golf and basketball.
Some may encourage this kind of mediocrity by posting pictures of the Veep on social media and cheering him with slogans like “My vice president is cooler than yours”, but have you ever taken time to think whether these displays are why you voted for him in 2014?
I believe there is a more pertinent question that we must pursue: why are these politicians so desperate to take up this poisoned chalice? Only the daft can believe Sidik Mia’s claims that as vice president he will help in the development of the country, or specifically their region as I have heard some say. The vice presidency has consistently been shown to have zero influence in the shaping of this country’s economic direction.
Fellow Malawians, let not anyone fool you. There are only two reason why people are clamouring for the vice presidency. Both are dangerous and despicable, enough to tell us to shun anyone shamelessly campaigning for the role.
The first reason is greed.
The vice presidency enjoys the glamour and the pretence of power – the mansion, the motorcade and the reasonably high government salary – without actually doing any real work. Money for nothing and chicks for free!
In spite of always being left out of any significant involvement in the running of government, a vice president still can push for shady deals to be done and quietly make a lot of money at the taxpayer’s expense. And then there are all the foreign trips and the allowances that accompany them.
If anyone is going around saying “Pick me, pick me” as running mate to these party leaders, it is not because they have the welfare of Malawi at heart. It is simply because they are greedy and heartless, wanting to reap where they did not sow and planning of getting paid taxpayer money for sitting at home in the Vice president’s mansion in Area 12, doing absolutely nothing.
The second reason is simply cowardice.
These pretended aspirants simply do not have the courage to declare their interest in the top seat itself for fear of reprisals from their respective parties’ hierarchies. I asked myself this question many times before the answer finally dawned on me. Why on earth would a person claiming to have ideas that would change the country desire a position where all Malawian know and history has shown holds no sway to transform anything?
It seems to me that after seeing Joyce Banda become president after Bingu’s death, all politicians too scared to challenge their party leaders for the presidency see hope in becoming vice president and laying patiently in wait for fate to lend them a hand and give them the presidency, rather than honourably and valiantly deposing their party leaders in a fair fight for party leadership.
If you think of the advanced ages of those currently leading the most prominent political parties at present- Mutharika, Chakwera and Joyce Banda, surely the most logical thing to do for the politically inclined person with ideas on how to rescue Malawi from this economic decline is to aspire to take over from them and become President, and not vice president?
Our political framework and the lack of true democratic principles in our political parties have created a culture of life-presidents, or traditions in these parties where the leader is chosen once every 10 to 15 years, if you are lucky. Somehow it is not personally safe for anyone, to come out in the open and declare interest to contest at a convention for a party’s presidency.
When someone is even suspected of being interested in leading the party- whether the party is DPP, UDF or MCP, the party faithful often threaten and denigrate such individuals, making them fear for their lives. Instead of encouraging this democratic spirit and fostering the atmosphere of competition so that parties can end up fielding the best leaders possible at elections, aspirants are quickly given bad names and castigated as rebels, rabble-rousers and agitators.
The fear for one’s personal safety and wellbeing if one decides to challenge for the leadership of any of the main political parties is real. There are party cadets that are prepared to kill anyone who is even rumoured to be interested in challenging Peter Mutharika for the leadership of the DPP for 2019 elections.
There are MCP cadets that are so fanatical they will fabricate false stories and make up sex scandals to embarrass and cause grief to a member’s family and friends simply because that member is seen as a potential threat to Chakwera’s prospects of leading the MCP in 2019.
I would have thought that as long as party conventions for 2019 elections have not yet been held, anyone should be allowed to express their interest in leading these parties, and that the more the number of those interested the better? Isn’t it good for Malawians to have a wider selection of choices than to simply have Peter Mutharika or Lazarus Chakwera imposed on them as though there are no other Malawians in these parties that can probably even do a better job as leaders?
As there is absolutely no explanation that can justify a serious politician thinking that the way to change Malawi is through the vice presidency, those serious about wanting to change this country must be challenged to contest for the presidency of their party. The current crop of party presidents is corrupt, suspicious and weak. Take them on!
If I were interested in joining politics so that I can employ my ideas and knowledge to transforming this country, I would challenge Peter Mutharika to the DPP presidency in 2019. He is 77 years old and should really be home enjoying retirement. Also, he has not done anything in his first term to deserve another term either as leader of the party or the country.
Clamouring for the vice presidency is driven by simple greed and cowardice. It is a display of political avarice that should not be tolerated if our country is to develop.
Shame on us for cheering on the cowardly and the greedy! This nonsense must stop.
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