Reflect deeply on governance, EU tells Malawians

Head of the European Union (EU) delegation Alexander Baum has challenged Malawi to use its 50 years of independence as moment of deep reflection on governance issues.

Baum was speaking in Blantyre yesterday during the opening of a week-long National Training and Planning workshop of the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust.

“This year should provoke thinking among Malawians. Not necessarily by dwelling on personalities. Rather, discussing the root cause of systematic failures of governance, mostly, in the last 20 years of democracy,” he said.

Baum added that the cashgate, which he described as a symbol of ‘governance deficiency’, represents an opportunity for Malawians to re-examine the connection between interest of the leaders and the community.

“Some of these cases present situations where we can agree that those elected in office fail to balance personal interest with that of the community. How do you explain a person who loots billions when hospitals and schools run dry?” he said.

Baum further said though democracy and development takes time to bear fruition as it happened in Europe, it is worth pointing out that Malawi cannot go on caught in the cycle of learning and failing.

“Fifty years is a long time. Malawians need to ask themselves serious probing questions and draw conclusions. There is a need for home-grown deliberations on how the country should be run by people who should not loot public money. This should not be externally driven,” he said.

According to Nice executive director Ollen Mwalubunju, the workshop will, among others, review implemented programmes.