‘President must improve communication strategy’
In this interview, Deogratias Mmana engages Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) national secretary Chris Chisoni on the performance of President Joyce Banda in 2012 and the country’s economic and political outlook for 2013 and beyond.
What good things would you remember President Joyce Banda for in the year just ended?
President Banda came into power at a time when we all were tired and fed up with critical economic challenges and unnecessary antagonism with various cooperating nations and partners. She has managed to turn this around. We are living peacefully among ourselves and with our neighbours; though something just popped up from Tanzania [Lake Malawi wrangle]. She brought hope from despair and uncertainty that gripped the country. Her leadership brought into place another chapter of Malawi history seeking to embrace new concepts of politics and development that seriously includes the participation of women into key leadership positions.
How would you say she has managed government affairs?
The President, in our opinion, did not show strong skills in negotiating with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank leading to a general feeling among Malawians that she listens to international institutions than to her own local people.
No wonder the international community seems to like her while locally, an emerging angry citizenry is also building up faster. We also see a get-rich-quick syndrome emerging in the current ruling elites, when we all thought this will be an experience of the past. It is a minus on her leadership rating.
What would you say was the most serious mess under her leadership?
The Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (FISP) not necessarily due to her direct involvement, but due to weak governance structures that have adopted a lukewarm approach. While some challenges have been perennial, last year we saw sand and fertiliser mixed, huge diversion of delivery of fertiliser bags and many more others. It borders on perceived leadership character that is at ease and seems not to handle perverted agents.
What areas would you want the President to improve on in this New Year?
The President must, by all means, improve seriously on her communication strategy. The country needs more details on her initiatives in a proactive and non-reactionary manner. Secondly, the President must clearly articulate a vision for this country.
It is important that we do not feed each other history to justify present economic challenges. We need, from government, a clearly defined direction on development and economic strides; we need a clearly defined purpose and direction not only for the present of this country but also for the future of this country and its coming generations. This must start now.
While respecting the emerging mood for 2014 elections, the President must not only look at short term results of her leadership, she must mobilise the nation to think beyond elections, this is our greatest need as a nation today. The President can do better by strengthening her listening skills as evidenced by the Electoral Commission and the Vice President portfolio contestation. She can apply the same to frequent trips by drastically reducing them.
How do you assess Malawi’s future in 2013 and beyond?
As we enter 2013, and it is a transit into an elections year, more complicated challenges will emerge. We imagine a situation where government will be fast gripped with panic for elections results; hence, influencing its development agenda and practice towards 2014 elections results. We see a government that will get a critical mass and a critical opposition and in the process become more reactive instead of planning and executing. This will derail any development strategies that go beyond 2014. This will affect any available sense of direction as politics will go to the front of everything.
It is up to Malawian citizens to become vigilant and proactive in holding our political leaders to account for their decisions and choices. We cannot afford to effect development just because there are elections coming around the corner. We need also to use this coming year to reflect critically on what the last Public Affairs Committee meeting articulated strongly—that we as a nation no longer need transitional leaders but need transformational leaders.
What can Malawians do to ensure that they have such leaders?
A scrutiny of those emerging or presenting themselves as leaders must be done in this new year, if we have to stop moaning and groaning with leadership deficiencies in each presidential and parliamentary term. A wait and see approach will take us nowhere as a nation.
