SKC ‘intervenes’ on youths’ demos
A last minute call from Vice-President Saulos Chilima cancelled demonstrations that Concerned Partners and Citizens organised in Mzuzu City against what they term “rampant nepotism and corruption in government”.
According to UTM Party youth director (North) Mzondi Mkandawire, who was also the lead organiser of the protests, said the call at around 10pm, came hours after Minister of Civic Education and National Unity Timothy Mtambo failed to convince the group to cancel the protests.
Mkandawire, while stating that the protests are not linked to Chilima-led UTM, says they were organised by youths who feel the government is only recruiting people from one region.
“We met Mtambo on Thursday, and told him that we would proceed with the protests because these are issues that the current government had been campaigning against. We see too much corruption, and promotions only for people coming from Lilongwe, and recruitments [into government] of people from the Central Region in general.
“But a call from the Vice-President at 10pm made us think. He called us and asked if we could put on hold our protests so that we meet. That is the only reason we had to cancel our protests because the VP told us that he has heard our concerns,” he said.
On the reasons for the protests, he claimed that the government has become more of a Malawi Congress Party (MCP) entity than the Tonse Alliance.
He said: “We see that the same issues of nepotism in appointments are continuing—the same complaints we had with the former regime. We see many people now from the Central Region being promoted, going in government institutions and you will confirm this. What they promised is not what is happening.
“We have also seen on recruitment that there has been no transparency. There have been no interviews, but we have seen people from MCP only being put into positions. So, we are saying, ‘can President [Lazarus] Chakwera address these issues before they get out of hand?’”
Both the Vice-President ‘s spokesperson Pilirani Phiri and UTM publicity secretary Frank Mwenifumbo feigned ignorance of the said last-minute call from Chilima to cancel the protests.
In a separate interview, Mzuzu University-based political analyst Chrispin Mphande said the youths could be acting out of frustrations, however, that they should have produced data on their claims.
“In the civil service, recruitment is supposed to be on merit, and if they have noted that there is no merit, let them come out with the data. Otherwise, these people could be acting out of frustration.
“They may have expected something, and it is not happening. Of course, we cannot completely rule out a rift between the Alliance partners,” he said.
Political and administrative Studies lecturer at Chancellor College, Mustafa Hussein said the matter may only be a symptom of bigger problems within the Tonse Alliance administration, but he believes the issue is also coming out of dissatisfaction.
“Tonse is only on paper; the reality is that it is MCP,” he said.
The Tonse Alliance administration, led by Chakwera and Chilima, alongside seven other parties, dislodged the Democratic Progressive Party in the June 23 2020 court-sanctioned fresh presidential election.
