MCP, UDF behind fuel crisis—Bingu

Three days after blaming Satan for the country’s problems, Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika on Tuesday added opposition Malawi Congress Party and United Democratic Front to the list of contributors to the current fuel crisis.

But the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) said it built enough reserves in which the Mutharika administration has failed to put even a single drop of fuel.

MCP asked the President to stop blaming opposition parties for his failures.

Mutharika, who was speaking at Kang’oma in the capital, Lilongwe where he presided over the promotion of Traditional Authority Tsabango to Senior Chief, also argued the concept of democracy did not originate from the Western world as Africa had a consultative system way before.

Said Mutharika: “The challenge of fuel did not just come today. For 31 years, MCP did nothing to ensure that we have enough reserves in case a need arises. The same with UDF. These two regimes sat phwiiii [idle] and you claim Bingu has failed? That is not fair.”

The President said Malawi, as a landlocked country, should have built enough reserves to stock fuel, adding that criticism from opposition mainly borders more on jealousy than offering alternatives.

“I have planned to build two tanks each in the cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu that can stock fuel for six months. These challenges will go and we will improve. You now say my administration is finished, the MCP and UDF did not have any vision that is why they finished,” said Mutharika.

But MCP publicity secretary Nancy Tembo said Mutharika is full of contradictions. She observed that during his Christmas message, the President asked all Malawians to work together only to turn around and start attacking others on a podium two days later.

“It is insincere, incorrect and insensitive for him to say that. The MCP had a visionary leadership and built reserves at Luchenza [in Thyolo], Chipoka [in Salima], Mchinji and Chilumba [in Karonga] which are now empty alongside the filling stations. He cannot blame MCP for his failures,” said Tembo.

She said Mutharika, being an economist, should have known by now that the fuel shortages are due to the scarcity of foreign exchange. She said such a realisation should have given Mutharika an idea to look at the cause of the sudden foreign exchange shortage which has affected the country since 2009.

UDF officials did not pick up their phones when The Nation sought their side of the story.

Mutharika’s attack also came against a background of former president Bakili Muluzi’s offer on Sunday to advise and bail out the country from crises rocking the economy, including fuel shortages, if approached.

Muluzi, who introduced Mutharika to the presidency in 2004 by describing him as “an economic engineer” and the right person to deal with economic challenges the country faced during his rule, said in an interview on Christmas Day the country has gone through tough times in Mutharika’s administration, especially during 2011.

But presidential spokesperson Hetherwick Ntaba argued Muluzi is free to give his views as opposition leaders, non-governmental organisations, faith groups and concerned citizens have done. He said government will not approach Muluzi for solutions.

Malawi has been experiencing erratic supply of fuel since 2009, widely due to shortage of foreign exchange as the country’s top forex earner, tobacco, has been fetching low prices in recent years.

Increased volumes of vehicles in the country has also resulted in an increase in the demand for fuel.

Besides these factors, unreliable power supply has also forced major operations such as Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga to rely on diesel-operated generators. Donor aid cut has also contributed to the forex shortage.