Q & A

‘APM must resign’

Some civil society organisations are calling for President Peter Mutharika to resign following allegations that he is a sole signatory to a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) bank account in which K145 million from Police was deposited into. Our reporter BRIAN ITAI caught up with Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Timothy Mtambo to learn more.

Mtambo: Our demands are reasonable

Q: How do you justify your calls for President Peter Mutharika to resign following his alleged involvement in the Malawi Police Service fraud?

A: To begin with, the investigative report which implicates President Peter Mutharika is straight from the Anti-Corruption Bureau an institution established and mandated by the laws of the land. Secondly, the President himself has acknowledged receiving the money by saying it was a donation to the party (the Democratic Progressive Party) whose bank account in question has Mutharika as the sole signatory. We do not believe in such kind of coincidence and we refuse to be cheated.

What kind of coincidence is it to have Pioneer Investments donating a total of K145 million to the DPP through its bank account where the President is the sole signatory yet all this happening after government fraudulently awards this company a contract? That’s clear daylight corruption, so pathetic and so cheap. It literally means the President has lost the moral standing to govern. Corruption is a serious crime and Malawians have been punished enough because of corruption. And if the President is implicated in such malpractices, how do we expect him to deal with the vice which is very rampant in his administration? We are more than justified to ask him to resign because Section 12 of the Malawi Constitution is clear that what the President and all that govern is but a delegated authority from us the citizens. For sure we do not delegate our leaders to steal from us. They govern based on sustained trust and we cannot trust leaders who are implicated in an official corruption report. That’s why we say now is the time for all Malawians of goodwill to rise up and say No! to corruption, to impunity, and this maladministration in government.

Look at all these devastating effects of corruption: no medicine in hospitals, pathetic education facilities, low production levels due to blackouts, high unemployment levels and all these substandard works. These are simply fruits of corruption in government. We cannot continue suffering like this, for how long are we going to be subjected to that kind of impunity. This is an Executive and organised corruption that is why the dust of corruption is refusing to settle in this country.   He must resign to pave the way for investigations and prosecution. Justice delayed is justice denied.

 

Q: Some may think that  CSOs you sometimes make demands which are unreasonable given the history which has seen most ultimatums that you have issued in the past being met with cold shoulders. How do you measure your role as CSOs in this regard?

A: It should be noted that the demands we make are always reasonable and in keeping with our laws. If we use what the law says and demand accountability from those in government and if they don’t comply it doesn’t mean it’s the CSOs have failed or have unreasonable demands. All it means is that we have a government that doesn’t listen to its citizens. We have a government and leaders who have become masters of impunity and Executive arrogance. These are simply signs of an irresponsible government. And it is therefore the government that is to blame and not the CSOs.  All it means is that we have a government that is so selfish and inconsiderate that it feels it’s more important than the citizenry. Elsewhere there are leaders who willingly resign after being implicated in even fairer cases than the ones we have here. Malawians must also be blamed for this. Most of them are good at watching what CSOs are doing as if the issues CSOs are advocating for don’t affect them. The battle is not only for the CSOs, it’s for all who love this country. We must be patriotic and patriotism as Theodore Roosevelt said means passionately standing with the country and not the President. So, Malawians must rise against the prevailing evils regardless of their political affiliations.

Q: As CSOs do you retain trust in the ability of Parliament to push for the amendment of Section 91 (2) which provides immunity to a sitting President from prosecution?

A: We know that we have some parliamentarians who think soberly and are patriotic. We also know that there are those who think their political and personal interests are more important than the welfare of Malawians. That’s sad for democracy! So sad, some behave as if they do not live in Malawi.  The fact that we have a compromised Parliament should not stop and scare us from demanding legally and just procedures to take place and be followed. We strongly believe that a well-meaning member of Parliament should be concerned by such corrupt revelations. It is our hope that they will stand with the people at least for once on this. But we would like to inform all parliamentarians that if they reject these demands by us Malawians, we will also reject them come elections in 2019.

 

Q: Whenever CSOs have called on the public to join them to demonstrate on some particular issue, the turnout has mostly disappointed. Do you see a problem of lack of ownership among Malawians that they elect to remain aloof even on issues that directly affect their well-being?

A: The April 27 nationwide demonstrations had a very successful turnout. Malawians came in thousands to speak out against sundry vices being embraced and propagated by this government. But we also know of many other noble causes where some Malawians choose to stand and watch yet they are the ones shouldering the heaviest burdens and paying the cost as a result of a government that is corrupt and irresponsive. We want to emphasise that if Malawians will not rise up and demand accountability now, they will never do that again. This is an opportunity to hold people in government accountable. We believe we can do better as a people.

 

Q: On the issue of impeachment, procedure demands that the process goes through Parliament. And now Parliament is not in session, given the 14-day ultimatum that you have issued, how do you think the process will be carried out?

A: Parliament is a house of representatives and they represent us. We as the represented demand them to meet and we expect them to act too. The impeachment procedure is backed up by law and only Parliament can do that. We ask the Speaker to call for Parliament and address this crisis which Malawi is in. We make this appeal to the Speaker of Parliament to meet and the Treasury to provide money for this. We have seen the Treasury making timely monetary provisions when funding even some initiatives. We have the K4 billion and K6 billion cases in mind. In a time of crisis it is legal for the Speaker to call for Parliament.

 

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