MCP and its self-destructive tendencies
The best thing that can happen in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) right now is for a national convention to happen as soon as yesterday as this will perhaps lay to rest the ongoing leadership wrangles that seem not to end.
Hearing from the two factions in the MCP, the bone of contention seems simple enough and can easily be resolved through a roundtable discussion.
The old guards elected alongside the president Lazarus Chakwera are not happy with the people that have endeared themselves to the president in recent months, the so-called Renaissance Lodge Group who they believe are political novices and not fit to advise the party president.
The Chakwera faction on the other hand argues that the 2013 convention mandated the party president to appoint individuals to certain national executive committee (NEC) positions meaning these were not illegal.
But the letter which the party’s vice-president Richard Msowoya, secretary general Gustav Kaliwo, deputy secretary general James Kaunda and Tony Kandiero authored seems not to recognise this, especially positions which were allegedly effected unprocedurally such as that of Eisenhower Mkaka as deputy secretary general and Rhino Chiphiko replacing Kandiero.
Had it the issue ended at the letter and Chakwera’s response to it which has not come, many would have thought MCP was redeemable but no, the members of Parliament (MPs) have come in to fan the flames.
It is the MPs’ assertions that Chakwera should never be questioned, at least not publicly. Doing so is going against the four cornerstones that the party’s ideologies rest on.
Those who authored the letter have broken the four corner stones of unity, obedience, discipline and loyalty.
According to the MPs, if Msowoya and company had issues with Chakwera, they should have gone directly to the president to resolve them, understandably so.
But frankly, MCP cannot be going around in circles like this with such a short period to go before elections and MCP supporters must be bone tired of the never-ending wrangles.
If it means pin-pointing individuals at the heart of this and showing them the door then the better for MCP and the possibility of the party finally winning the presidency after five unsuccessful attempts.
It is not a long way to go to the elections but the actions of MCP and its diehards quick to defend even the indefensible do not inspire confidence that it is a party ready to take over from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
It would be too hasty to blame the coming in of Sidik Mia but in all honesty things did begin to unravel in the oldest party after he started fètèing certain factions leaving out others.
The results of the October 2017 by-election, scooping four Parliamentary and three councillor seats, have also given the party a certain air of arrogance that is becoming hard to stomach by the day.
Any person who points out that Chakwera erred is an enemy and airing out any amount of criticism of the mighty MCP is labelled as belonging to the other camp.
The attention of the electorates is directed at MCP right now, much as DPP has its own problems not to mention PP.
MCP has always been the party to form the next government and at every election the expectations are always too high.
Frankly, the bickering in MCP has become a bore and its supporters deserve better; they deserve to walk with confidence that they belong to a government-in-waiting not a disorganised MCP that they are seeing now.
