President Lazarus Chakwera is known for his oratory. His speeches are often so well crafted that oftentimes they make even his nemesis/enemies tip their hat in appreciation of a man who also has a very good command of language, both in the vernacular and the Queen’s language.
Listening to Chakwera one gets the sense that this is probably a man on a mission, and one who knows what needs to be done to fix this country.
Unfortunately, recent events have proved that Chakwera is not a man of his word. He has on several occasions flip-flopped on his own words and orders.
Chakwera has been quite indecisive recently such that it is becoming more and more difficult to believe what he says. His flip-flopping on not just important issues, but issues of national interest is unbelievable and worrying. The President has managed to be a mockery of himself on straight-forward issues that do not require one to be a rocket scientist to figure out what needs to be done.
Take, for instance, the issue of the K6.2 billion Covid-19 funds audit report. It is the President who ordered auditing agencies to find out how the money was spent. When he said it, he promised Malawians that he will not spare anyone who will be found to have mismanaged any amount of money from those funds. We all know that Chakwera had the report months ago but as has become his tendency, he backtracked and tried to play the blame-game. I am glad Malawians did not buy that.
Then the issue of Cabinet assessment. He, through his spokesperson and without being prompted or forced by anyone but out of their volition, promised to announce the new Cabinet within 48 hours. We are now counting weeks, going into a month since this was announced. Still, Chakwera and his people had to blame others for failing to announce the new Cabinet.
It is sad to hear the President begging institutions he had ordered to do the audit to give him the report. Mr President, if you felt strongly about this K6.2 billion accountability issue, by now heads would have rolled. Your flip-flopping is a clear sign that what you promised Malawians was just for optics and a talk-show.
A crucial aspect of being a successful leader is the ability to make decisions that are time-sensitive and well-informed. Decisive leaders are responsible and accountable. They take responsibility for their decisions and they are committed to following through on the actions needed to carry out their decision.
Again, decisive leaders once they take a stand on something, they are slow to change their mind. Being decisive doesn’t entail being arrogant, stubborn or hasty, it simply means having the ability to make decisions with clarity. This your indecisiveness, Mr. President, will be your downfall if you do not change. Mark my word.
