THE BUSINESS OF POVERTY PRODUCTION IN MALAWI: OF UN-PATRIOTIC MALAWIAN PRESIDENTS

Celebration of Martyrs Day on 3^rd March each year in Malawi provides an opportunity for all of us Malawians to reflect on our past, build on successes and turning our failure into opportunity. Malawians who lost life and property fighting for our liberty deserve so much respect and admiration by all Malawians today because they showed us that true patriotism requires selfless fight for a good cause even in the face of suffering and death. Their souls rest in eternal everlasting peace.

When the martyrs fought for our freedom, they wanted all Malawians to be liberated entirely from political, economic and social conditions at the time. They wanted a Malawi that provided endless possibilities for its people. They wanted to see a Malawi free of impunity and suffering. They wanted a government led Malawian sons. They wanted to see a government of the people, by the people for the people. Taking stock of the strides that Malawi has taken over the years, Malawi has achieved so much in areas such as health, agriculture, human rights just to mention but a few. The successes we have achieved so far as a country can not be over-emphasized.

However, there is one thing in common among our leaders that remains a challenge and cause of concern. Most of our leaders have shown their endless desire to keep the people poor and destitute for their own political mileage. Instead of bringing policies that really transmute communities and the people at large, our leaders continuously implement policies that erode the sheer hope and optimism that people of Malawi have. It is disheartening to see our presidents who publicly swore to protect and preserve the word and spirit of the constitution, being in the forefront raping the same constitution left, right and centre. The constitution tips all persons responsible for the exercise of powers of the state that they do so on trust and that they should only exercise such power to the extent of their lawful authority and in accordance with their responsibilities to the people of Malawi. They are therefore required to be transparent, accountable and responsible while running affairs of the state. To our dismay however, there are always revelations of mismanagement of public funds starting from Dr. Bakili Muluzi to Dr Joyce Banda. The question that we ask in this is, are our leaders conscious about poverty reduction in Malawi or they are in the business of making Malawians more poor?

Leaders are supposed to be beacons of light. They are supposed to bring hope to the hopeless. They are supposed to bring anger in the people to work hard to change their lives, those of others and develop their country. How do law abiding citizens work hard when they know that the huge tax they are paying to the government will be embezzled by a few corrupt and selfish government officials? The recent Cashgate and Jetcash revelations have left so many Malawians disoriented and hopeless because Malawi could accomplish a lot should such resources been used for poverty alleviation in the country. Much as the incumbent President Joyce Banda may distance herself from these scandals, she is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing that these incidences do not happen under her watch. 100 days into her presidency, I asked President Joyce Banda what her agenda was for our beautiful country http://www.nyasatimes.com/2012/08/12/president-joyce-banda-what-is-your-agenda-for-malawi/. Poverty alleviation requires that people be empowered economically, socially and politically. To achieve this, there is always a requirement to use policies that create jobs for millions of Malawian youths in desperate need of jobs, sound economic management that encourage entrepreneurship, development of the education sector and strengthening of the health sector.

The dream by the late President Professor Bingu wa Mutharika to turn the nation from a predominantly importing to a predominantly exporting one was a step in the right direction because this leads to creation of real wealth. It is in my view that giving out handout in terms of shoes, flower, cash or clothes diverts people from focusing on real things that can move people up the poverty line. As we move closer to elections, it is my utmost hope and prayer to my fellow Malawians to put into government leaders that will tirelessly work hard to reduce poverty levels in the country. Selfish and corrupt leaders must not be allowed to take up crucial positions in our society because doing so leads the country in a path of self destruction. I urge my fellow Malawians to take a leading role in ensuring that our leaders are accountable for their actions by taking action when things go wrong. Active citizenship is needed to show our leaders that they have crossed the line. So Malawians lets wake up and repossess what has been stolen from us and end our poverty. No one can stop light from shining. No matter how dark the night is, there is dawn.