CMD initiates political party leaders’ dialogue

The Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) says it is in the process of creating a platform for peace-building for political party leaders to enable them freely and openly interact to deal with conflicts.

As part of lobbying party leaders, CMD already met President Lazarus Chakwera, who is also leader of Malawi Congress Party in July while yesterday, they met ex-president Joyce Banda in her capacity as People’s Party president.

Today, CMD is expected to meet immediate-past president Peter Mutharika in his capacity as president of Democratic Progressive Party.

In an interview, CMD executive director Kizito Tenthani said they want to demonstrate that while politicians may differ in approach, the ultimate objective of politics should remain finding the best formulae for developing the country.

“There is a great need for collaborative leadership where, in as much as our political leaders may differ in approaches to address some of the challenges, they can still learn from each other, engage in a constructive way to ensure that them as leaders are rallying the country towards a developmental vision,” he said.

Political scientist Master Dicks Mfune from the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College welcomed the initiative, but expressed doubt, saying: “To me, it’s just rhetoric and meeting political leaders will not yield any results.”

Mfune, who is also an expert in conflict management and peace building, said the initiative would be a waste of time.

Tenthani said the organisation was yet to secure appointments with Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who is also president of UTM Party, and Atupele Muluzi and Enock Chihana, who are presidents of United Democratic Front and Alliance for Democracy, respectively.

But during the meeting with Chakwera, Tenthani said the President expressed his full support for the idea.