Two hopefuls yesterday submitted their nomination papers for the UTM Party presidency to confirm their resolve to contest at the party’s convention set for November 17 this year.
Former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor Dalitso Kabambe and Engineer Mathews Mtumbuka physically presented their nomination papers at the party’s headquarters in Area 10, Lilongwe yesterday to set the pace for the race to replace founding president Saulos Chilima who died in a military plane crash on June 10 2024.
Others who earlier collected nomination papers include the country’s Vice-President and UTM Party leader Michael Usi, party secretary general Patricia Kaliati, patron Engineer Newton Kambala and director of youth Penjani Kalua.
In an interview yesterday, UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala said so far four candidates have paid the K20 million nomination fees for the presidential race. However, he declined to mention their names.
And speaking in an interview after presenting the papers, Kabambe said his goal is to bail out Malawians from the economic challenges facing the country.
He said: “All Malawians are suffering. They are languishing. They cannot send their children to school due to unaffordable fees. When you go to hospitals, there are no medicines.
“If you look at the whole economy, the cost of living has been rising. Even those who are working, their disposable income has sharply contracted due to high inflation. My goal is to improve Malawians lives.”
Kabambe, an economist who joined UTM after leaving Democratic Progressive Party where he also aspired for the presidency, said he shares the late Chilima’s dream of transforming the country and that with his 25 years of public sector experience, he believes he will build the party and take it into government.
He said: “Promoting unity in the party is key to winning the elections. For us to win the 2025 election, we also need resources so we will also find ways of mobilising resources.
“I was the Reserve Bank governor and I have experience in public finance management. So, we will have to sit down and strategise on resources mobilisation and how best to manage the resources.”
On his part, Mtumbuka, an accomplished corporate executive who has worked for multinationals locally and abroad, said he is the answer to the country’s problems as the country needs new leadership.
He said Malawi needs a chief executive officer type of a leader who can run the country as company that is failing and turn it around.
Said Mtumbuka: “I have the CEO experience. I have worked for international companies as chief executive officer and also sat on many boards.
“We need to fix this country. Actually I am walking in the footsteps of the late Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima. He was my boss at Airtel Malawi and when he was leaving Airtel, he told me that there was need for a CEO type of a person to fix this nation. His life was cut short, but I have come to complete that vision, that legacy of Dr. Chilima.”
He also said he relates with the majority youthful population, who tend to boycott voting because there are usually old people on the ballot.
He said: “My mission is to take the party into government. I cannot sell the party.”
Meanwhile, Njawala said the closing day for the submission of nomination papers is today.
On whether Usi has paid his nomination fees and when he is expected to present the nomination papers, he declined to respond.
UTM Party is scheduled to conduct its elective convention on November 17 in Mzuzu. The nomination fees for the presidential seat has been pegged at K20 million, with women and youthful aspirants paying half the amount.
In the post-Chilima era, UTM has emerged as the only party that has seen various candidates showing interest in the presidency ahead of the September 16 2025 General Elections.
