Beautiful images, where former President Barack Obama kitesurfs in Moskito on the British Virgin Islands with wife, Michelle Obama at the invitation of Sir Richard Branson.
Life after presidency.
Handing over power could be likened to a break up, it is painful. Obama handed over the weightiest job on the planet to Donald Trump, thereafter without blinking his eyes had his next life set all the same. He has been globe-trotting, book-writing, speech-giving and then it is recorded he, funnily, likes sleep and nights out with Michelle the former first lady.
When happy he makes few sound and objective public policy-related pronouncements while he builds his foundation. All this Obama life after presidency activities do not require the magic that money brings, it is ideas and can be done by any retired President of even a third world country like Malawi.
In the alternative, our own retiree in Mangochi, former President Arthur Peter Mutharika (APM) and wife can soon make Chindime and Samalani jobless for this week’s supposedly comical WhatsApp video that has gone viral. Whatever APM and wife were trying to say was as inaudible.
We digressed, the recording of a viral WhatsApp video seen as a crazy attempt to outdo Nollywood film producers came at an insensitive time.
In the country was International Monetary Fund (IMF) African Department head honcho Abebe Aemro Selassie who did not hide her exasperation over what Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) did during their rule to derail the program.
DPP conjectured up figures and information so that things looked rosy, a thing IMF has discovered. The local man is paying for that for lack of an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with the IMF.
The ECF supports countries’ economic programs aimed at moving toward a stable and sustainable macroeconomic position consistent with strong and durable poverty reduction and growth. The ECF may also help catalyze additional foreign aid. While APM and Gertrude are at their lakeshore retirement palatial home the country has no ECF thanks to DPP’s breaching of the oath with IMF.
“The IMF takes misreporting cases seriously, and in this regard, I appreciated the authorities’ ef forts in delivering on the corrective actions,” said Selassie when she came to Malawi this week.
The current regime, which rose to power in revolutionary design, needs the ECF to partly turn around the mess left by APM’s regime.
IMF finds what DPP did offensive, they represented information or blatantly lied and Government now is currently resolving with the IMF before the proposal for the new ECF Programme is presented to the IMF Board.
According to the IMF, there is a glimmer of hope as current ef for ts are heightened to combat corruption and enhance transparency and accountability in the use of public resources. This was a plus for new rulers.
So what did APM’s DPP do to anger the IMF?
The DPP Government was lying to the IMF books in its reporting, particularly on forex reserves.
DPP Government misreported severally on Gross Reserve A s s e t s ( G R A ) and Net International Reserves (NIR), for the period 2018 to 2019 and the fund has known about this misplaced creativity by an elected Government.
This is how the DPP bad mouthed the country given the IMF wrath and everyone has to bear the pain. To use this period to be releasing comical videos to show happy retirement the Mutharikas in their old age are devoid of wisdom or they don’t just care.
Thi s i s how the DPP mortgaged the country in the presence of the IMF and ever yone has to bear the pain. To use this period to be releasing comical videos to show happy retirement the Mutharikas in their old age are devoid of wisdom or they don’t just care.
Godot, on a lighter note, your predecessor needs help so that he records an audible video next time. In the video he is unable to express himself through the act of speaking and a “Virtual Voice” equipment can do it if it can be bought for him. This device makes use of AG-500 Articulograph sensor, which can be fixed over the lips of APM. With the AG-500 Articulograph APM can then record an apology for his Government’s frustrating the IMF program. Now he can mimic Trevor Noah at his pleasure.
This week has been a comedy of errors for APM, former FDH CEO Thom Mpinganjira was handed 9 years, a man who was kind to many parties with DPP as a huge beneficiary but all APM could do at this time was to record videos seeming to be funny. Quite insensitive for APM and we are not looking at the merits or demerits of the actual matter. Timing was upside down for APM.
Added, APM’s errand boy Shadreck Namalomba decided to undermine the Anti- Corruption Bureau on behalf of the DPP czar. This is unbecoming. The icing on the cake was the IMF team being in the country and while the mess of APM’s rule was being unearthed he decided to become a one day star via a video.
Godot, we waited for long to see APM face justice.
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