JB cancels AU trip, delegates Veep
Malawi President Joyce Banda has cancelled her official trip to attend the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and has instead delegated her Vice, Khumbo Kachali.
Special adviser on politics and communications Elias Wakuda Kamanga has confirmed that the President is not attending the summit scheduled for today.
“The Vice-President is going. Actually he has already left. It is within the line of duty for the President to delegate the Vice-President,” said Kamanga on Tuesday.
Reports in Addis Ababa suggested that this was a last-minute change because arrangements were as of Monday being made to welcome the President and not Kachali.
Wakuda Kamanga could not be drawn to comment whether the cancellation of the President’s trip was a result of the austerity measures government announced in November last year in the wake of the cashgate scandal and the subsequent freeze in budgetary support from the country’s major donors.
Government suspended all internal and foreign travel by government officials and by extension to the President, who has been criticised for her frequent internal and external travels.
The President first attended the AU summit in January 2013.
In June 2012, the AU shifted that July’s summit from Malawi following Banda’s request to the body to plead with Sudan President Omar al-Bashir not to come as there were no assurances that Malawi would refuse to serve the International Criminal Court arrest warrant on him.
The AU responded by insisting that Malawi had an obligation to welcome al Bashir and provide all the necessary protection to the Sudanese leader.
The Cabinet decided that such conditions were unacceptable and the summit was moved to Addis Ababa and Kachali also represented Banda.
Cashgate induced Blood Pressure yavuta. Upeza bwanji ntendere muntima after stealing all that money from poor Malawians. Manthu wa Mbava!!!
Why did she not attend the last meeting and why AU summit did the last summit not take place here in Malawi. That is the reason why JB has not gone to attend the summit. You know JB is baying for Al Bashir’s blood that Bashir gets arrested and JB is afraid. She has traveled to very trivial meetings abroad spending a lot of Government money on nothing therefore you could not expect her not to go on a plane which she likes so much.
Malawi’s relations with SADCC, AU and Tanzania are sour becoz of this lady JB but you clap hands when she says ‘ndabwezeretsa ma ubale’
This is not worth making the front page headline. This woman called Joyce Banda has already caused a lot of damage to Malawi. Only fools will vote for her. Cash-gate and jet money. Bonya etc.
So the problem is got no case by Laws of Malawi unless He is heard by court which in this allegation she could be neat
Connecting cash gate and AU trip could be wrong is at this point un neccesary
Let leave things with neutral people to report findings and hear way forwrd by that the J B has big role leave her free until report is heard
In the manner she has embraced globe trotting only to rise up to day and say she has decided to delegate calls for a deeper soul search; it is either the woman is not well or the occurrences taking place in her famous PP has now completely overwhelmed one and only Joyce Banda. My wish and prayer is this: “If she is ill I want to ask God the Almighty to spare her so that she should answer the charges she has carelessly amassed during her short stint in Government” when time comes to apply the forfeitures she should be present to face the music. Her gesture this time around is indeed a welcome develop and more KUDOS for that Joyce but unfortunately it is too late too little to produce any impact because the damages made are irreparable, very painful and costly emotionally as well as physically to all Malawians regardless of party affiliations. Nkhutu kumve anamva ili m’mutu!!!!!!!
What more evidence do you need people to be convinced that this lady is on her way out. You cannot steel tax payer’s money with impunity and expect to get away with it. The sooner her high blood pressure takes its toll as it did with Bingu the better. Malawians have suffered for far too long and it’s about time they have a good bunch of politicians wealthy their vote.
Why doesnt she just die like Bingu?
Too little too late. After emptying the coffers you want to be termed a listening president. Watsiliza ndalama zaboma, tsopano wakhala pansi. Ndizo umafuna zimenezi, kusamvera.
The reason why God put leaders in there position is to defend the poor, u miss it its fire burning,u run to the sea it boils,u run to the rocks they will be melting until God free his people
It’s either the Mia ripple or past animosities with AU on Bashir. Otherwise we are convinced our lady enjoys the wings – austerity or not!
aziona sanati makani
I hope her excellency has included in her delegation notes to Khumbo the Lake Malawi issue with Tanzania. This matter is dragging just like the cashgate. I can see another missed opportunity here in the sense that our leader could have utilised this forum to clear out the mist surrounding her involvement in the cashgate. Isn’t it this the right forum for the president to lobby for some regional projects like opening of the Nsanje World Inland Port without too many unnecessary conditions from neighbouring Mozambique? I am sure the president could also have utilised this opportunity to meet another female president from Central African Republic and share notes on political and social challenges affecting female presidents as far as their leadership styles are concerned. It wouldn’t have been bad to repair damaged relationship with Sudan after all peace is more important than war and instability. Courage to face the truth rather than avert it determines quality of an honest person.