“If it tastes bitter, spit it out.
That’s what our ancestors did”
When
late President Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika, his soul rest in eternal
everlasting peace, took over the leadership mantle from Dr. Bakili Muluzi,
Malawi’s economy was at its weakest. Inflation was high, hunger was order of
the day and macro-economic activity in the country stalled. Within a short
period of time, Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika changed the face of Malawi. Hunger
became history, the economy grew at unprecedented rate, infrastructure
development began to take shape and handout dependency that characterized his predecessor’s
regime became history. The rest of the story is clear to us all. Towards final
days of Bingu’s regime, Malawi’s economy suffered setback predominantly due to
unavailability of foreign currency mostly the dollar as well as long-drawn-out
fuel shortages. These factors made Malawians grew remorse and animosity towards
their own president and thus his untimely death on 5 April 2012 (as now
confirmed by Commission of Inquiry on Bingu’s death and not 6 or 7 April 2012
as we were earlier told by some overzealous inside government individuals who
had their agendas!). His death thus created euphoria and expectations in
Malawians that new president Dr. Joyce Banda would turn things around for the
better. Has President Dr. Joyce Banda
changed Malawi for the better? Does she need five years to robustly change
Malawi’s economic woes for the better? Does she always have to blame the dead
for our suffering now? Do we still need to always wait for “azungu akuti azungu
akuti?” I live these to beautiful and peaceful Malawians to judge.
One
of the most notable Malawians, who strongly discredited late Bingu’s
leadership, was Atupele Muluzi. Atupele indefatigably questioned Bingu’s style
of leadership as well as his policies to the point that he brought his “agenda for change”. Beautiful it was! He
moved cross-country selling his agenda. It created hope and optimism that here
is a young man who really wants to change his nation to a better position.
Immediately after Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika’s untimely death, the most
surprising, unforgettable and unforgivable thing happened. Atupele Muluzi
dropped his “agenda for change” saying
and I quote “what we wanted in agenda for change, is change of leadership and
as of now agenda for change may no longer be necessary since there is change of
leadership”. This raises a number of questions. Does it mean Atupele was only
interested in leadership and not changing lives of Malawians as his agenda for
change insinuated? Is Atupele as politician motivated by money after being
appointed minister of economic planning? Does it not make sense for a
politician like Atupele work with the government as minister of economic
planning to help change things for better if he really is interested in
improving things in Malawi? Should such self-interested men be trusted ever???
AGENDA WITHOUT AGENDA
After
falling out of favour with President Dr. Joyce Banda and after enjoying
ministerial privileges, Atupele Muluzi is at it again. He has re-launched his “agenda for change” (italics used to
emphasize if indeed there is really any agenda at all!). Speaking afew days ago
on a whistle stop tour in Lilongwe, young Muluzi promised Malawians that should
they vote for him into government in 2014, he shall introduce free secondary
school education. Alas my beloved country! Has Atupele Muluzi conducted
thorough research to conclude that dwindling of education levels in Malawi is
as a result of lack of free secondary education? Does young Muluzi know that
government secondary education fees are already at their lowest compared to
private secondary schools? Does the handsome abroad educated Atupele know where
secondary school fees paid by students go? Does he even know what this school
fees is used for? In my unverified research, part of the fees paid in most
Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) is used to buy books and other school
utilities at those particular schools. Part of the fees that goes to government
is sent back to the same schools in the form funding which is turned into
desks, chalk, books, chalkboards etc. Thus government has never used secondary
schools as revenue collecting institutions. With the current education system,
will free secondary school education really improve education standards in
Malawi? Will free secondary school education create meaning and value in
wielders of that education? Would construction of better classrooms, training
of more teachers and improving salaries of teachers to motivate them not be
better agendas in Atupele’s agenda? Agenda without agenda!
Here
comes the big one; Creation of 500 000 jobs!! In his “agenda for change”, Muluzi has promised Malawians to create 500
000 jobs within a period of five years. The million dollar question that comes
out of all this is how does the technically self-employed speaking young Muluzi
intend to create these jobs? Has Atupele personally done something that has
created jobs not linked to Muluzi senior? Other than lying to Malawians, is it
not proper to include in the “agenda” issues
to do with export led growth, import substitution, industrialization, value
addition as conditions that really create jobs? Agenda without agenda!
Malawi
is going through troubled times. She is thirst for leadership that truly has
wishes and interests of the people at heart just as the just departed
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was. It is high time that political
self-interested rational maximizors were never entertained in Malawi politics.
Gone are days that saw cheap politics usher people into government. As we move
towards 2014, agendas without agenda will expose individuals that have nothing
to offer to this country and will thus display them as tricksters and scavengers
who must never inhabit plot number one!!
