On Tuesday June 23, 2020 Malawians went to the poll to elect a President following nullification of the May 21 2019 presidential election by the High Court.
Some of the major issues some Malawians fought against then were issues of corruption, nepotism, tribalism and regionalism that saw some deserving Malawians missing out on opportunities because of their tribe, and for not being politically-connected.
Tribalism, cronyism and nepotism which characterised the past regime should remain in the past and never again should this country be divided based on regions and tribal leanings.
Malawians also fought hard against the reckless plunder of the public kitty, which to this day continues to render the country in economic ruins. Many argue that though Malawi is rated one of the poorest countries, it is not the lack of capacity that has seen Malawi’s economy tumbling, rather it is lack of political will, corruption, greed and nepotism that have brought this country’s economy down to its knees.
Coming into power at the back of public anger against these vices, one would think that the Tonse Alliance administration, while in opposition, was taking notes of the things that Malawians want to change as a matter of urgency. However, it seems, they learnt nothing and seem unwilling to learn anything, if the plunder of Covid-19 funds at Department of Disaster Management (Dodma) is anything to go by.
It is strange that to this day, the President and the taskforce for Covid-19 are failing to come in the open and tell Malawians how they spent the K6.2 billion. Instead, what is happening is blame-shifting; but I say the buck stops with the President. What more with the fact that the taskforce reports to the Him? What have they been reporting to the President if not reporting figures of Covid-19 cases and figures of how the money is being used to fight the pandemic?
The Tonse Alliance administration should have hit the ground running but, to the contrary, this government is indecisive and has taken a laissez faire approach to rooting out the vices. Yet these are some of the reasons Malawians booted out the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). It would seem we are just moving in circles.
The current administration should have made rooting out corruption its number one priority. It is a known fact that no matter how much big money this country can get from donors and within, if corruption is left to thrive, the country will never develop. Tonse Alliance administration should not have joined the thieving crusade.
As if the thieving is not enough, some Tonse Alliance members are busy politicking, jostling for positions, backbiting each other and dismissing critics of the government. This country needs fixing now. It cannot be in campaign mode forever. There ought to be time to build the country by, for once, putting politics aside, hard as it may be.
Fixing this country will be easy and possible if you pay attention and listen to those who are critical of you. Do not outright dismiss them. The past regime was known for not listening to dissenting views and we all know how it ended for them. You are there on trust and once Malawians lose that trust, you, too, just like your predecessors, will face the wrath of Malawians at the ballot box.
Mr. President, you have a huge task of uniting Malawians and fixing this country. You have a task of rallying every single Malawian, including those who did not vote for you, to work with you to develop this country.
Let there be no witch-hunting but, of course, anyone who has stolen from Malawians has to pay back every single tambala. Those who committed crimes let them face the long arm of the law. This is also part of fixing this country. No one who stole from Malawians should be let scot-free.
Do not let Malawians down.
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