Be wary of future with DPP—Chilima
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has pleaded with the electorate to register and vote en-masse in next year’s elections, warning that failure to remove the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from power spells doom for the country.
He said the party continues to rob the country of its taxes, through corruption, theft and fraud, hence the need to remove it from power to usher in a new era of respect for the rule of law and financial prudence.
Chilima made the remarks yesterday, in a speech he read out in Tumbuka during the launch of his United Transformation Movement (UTM) at Mzuzu Upper Stadium.
“We are in a state where we have persistent blackouts, there are no jobs, and there is perpetual poverty. All these problems started because of corruption, we are losing a lot of money through this vice and theft.
“We are also in a situation where there is too much nepotism in government. You are employed or promoted because of where you come from. If your surname is Jere, Mhone or Kalolokesya, your application letter is thrown into a bin. We are tired of changing names so that we get jobs or get selected to universities,” he lamented.
For Chilima, the challenge is lack of transformative leadership; hence, the need for booting out of government those who have contributed to this.
“We need to move with speed to protect our country because money. If we wait a little longer before doing anything to save the situation, this country will be left with nothing. These people are stealing a lot, and we need to deal with them through the ballot,” he added.we are losing a lot of taxpayers’
The UTM leader also stressed that his government will abolish the quota system of selecting students into public universities, improve financial prudence, end nepotism and improve working systems in government.
He pledged to start rewarding hard-working civil servants, adding that his government will change the work ethic of civil servants within his first 100 days in office.
Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya, while pledging many things that UTM would do in government, attacked his former Malawi Congress Party (MCP) for being the architects of corruption, nepotism and quota system.
He reminded the gathering that it was MCP that started the quota system, and nepotism by sending teachers from the North back to their region in 1978, among others.
During the meeting, the movement also welcomed Mzuzu City legislator Leonard Njikho, who dumped the ruling DPP on Thursday, Mzimba North parliamentarian Agnes Nyalonje (People’s Party), and former Mzuzu City legislator Professor Peter Mwanza.
Former Flames coach and player, Kinnah Phiri also endorsed Chilima, saying the Vice-President has the right strategies to develop sports in the country.
DPP regional governor for the North Kenneth Sanga, whose party has lined up 22 rallies in Mzimba today, told our sister newspaper Weekend Nation that his party is not concerned with UTM.
“People should not think we are concerned with Chilima. We have let people in UTM continue insulting us as they have always done. We will concentrate on our message as DPP, and we also just want to show that we have capacity to hold as many meetings. Actually, we may hold meetings the whole region in one day,” he challenged.
