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DPP in difficult terrain—Saulos Chilima

 

Vice-President Saulos Chilima yesterday told people of Mchinji West Constituency that government is aware of the challenges facing the country such as food and electricity shortages and is working to overcome the problems.

Chilima, who is chairing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) committee for by-elections due on November 1, said this was unlike the opposition which he said has no solutions.

Speaking at Magawa Secondary School Ground in the district, Chilima likened the opposition, which he did not name, as a passenger on a bicycle (wapakaliyala) with no idea of the terrain the rider was maneuvering.

Chilima (R) addressing the DPP rally yesterday
Chilima (R) addressing the DPP rally yesterday

He said: “A backseat rider does not ring a bell. A person sitting at the back cannot see the potholes or the difficult terrain in front of him. What people need to know is that APM [President Peter Mutharika] is ruling this country. He will fix things and he will develop this country further.”

The Vice-President said Malawians should not moan about poverty and other challenges, but assist the government in overcoming them.

He described problems of food shortages and electricity blackouts as non-issues which the opposition should not use to campaign because his government was in the process of resolving.

On electricity, Chilima received applause for attributing blackouts to reduced water levels, promising that the government was already intensifying alternative energy sources such as solar, coal and bringing in more players as one way of overcoming the challenges.

But Malawi Congress Party (MCP) deputy secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka yesterday said DPP has been in power for two and a half years now, hence should have figured out the solutions to the problems by now.

He said: “They must be jokers.”

Government has come under fire and pressure from rampant electricity blackouts, water shortages and introduction of taxes on water and other basic necessities.

The Vice-President was accompanied to the rally by several Cabinet ministers, among them Samuel Tembenu (Justice and Constitutional Affairs), Patricia Kaliati (Civic Education, Culture and Community Development) as well as DPP national director of women affairs and Henry Mussa (Labour, Sports, Youth and Manpower Development) who doubles as DPP national treasurer. n

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