National News

Chihana says Malawi not ready for democracy

Chihana: There was no proper transition
Chihana: There was no proper transition

Alliance for Democracy (Aford) president Enoch Chihana, who is also Minister of Youth and Sports, has said Malawi is not ready for democracy as reflected in the financial status of the people.

Chihana, whose father the late Tom Chakufwa Chihana is considered a hero for championing democracy in the country, said this when he handed over tools for Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training (Tevet) to Chilolo Community Skills Development Centre in Mzimba on Friday.

He said in a democratic set-up, there is need to have a middle class in majority so that they put pressure on government to deliver. He said countries such as South Korea and Zimbabwe, which attained independence after Malawi, have developed because they have a middle class.

He said in the Malawian set-up, there is no pressure on government because the majority are poor and cannot engage government and that is why leaders run the country they way they like.

Chihana, who is in an electoral alliance with President Joyce Banda’s People’s Party (PP), said his father fought the one-party system to liberate people from the oppressive rule, but there was need for political leaders to call for a conference that would map the way forward.

He said: “Because there was no proper transition to democracy, that is why leaders rule the way they know. We cannot tell what kind of democracy we follow in Malawi. In a democracy, you need to have the middle class in majority so that they can engage government. Without that, there is need for a proper framework that would guide the country.”

Chihana said to ensure democracy, government has put in place various measures that will empower people economically so they hold government accountable.

But Chancellor College associate professor of political science Blessings Chinsinga yesterday said democracy should be understood as a universal value which people can attain if they want to do so and, in that view, Malawi is ready.

However, he agreed with Chihana that the country missed an opportunity soon after attaining democracy to come up with a concrete political project that would guide running of the country.

He said there was need for political leaders to frame a political project that would enable people to engage government.

He said in the absence of a political project, the country needed to have middle-class people in majority to pressurise government. He said Malawi has the poor in majority who do not have the power to check government.

“The issue of middle class is very crucial. In Malawi we have petty middle class whose interest is to uplift personal welfare. Middle class is important in pressurising government. Eighty percent of Malawians are poor and they cannot engage the political elite; what they think of is how they bring food on the table.

“For instance, on water problems, the rich buy water tanks instead of engaging water boards to supply water. On electricity, they buy generators instead of engaging Escom to provide electricity which does not solve the problem. If the middle class is not aggressive, how do you expect the poor to fight? This is why the poor are oppressed,” said Chinsinga.

Related Articles

Back to top button