Accountability on campaign promises
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emocracy thrives on credible electoral promises. Leaders are mostly elected based on promises they make on the campaign trail. These promises include statements for better lives and bright future for young people, women and children.
Improving the economy and ensuring better incomes, businesses and investment opportunities are some of the frequently repeated campaign promises. Youths are targeted with special packages of campaign promises that include access to jobs and business loans.
However, political terms of office come and go, yet a litany of campaign promises remain unfulfilled. Political parties strive to work on promises that are likely to give them greater chances of getting re-elected. These ‘low hanging fruits’ are mainly in form of visible infrastructure projects such as construction of roads and bridges.
It is baffling to realise how easy promises are made and how quick they are broken. Campaign promises that are made to cheering crowds are often soon bundled into packs of lies. Some politicians take to the campaign podium with premeditated lies sugar-coated with flowery language designed to hoodwink unsuspecting voters.
Sadly, politicians take advantage of the poverty and vulnerabilities of majority voters. Poverty is used as a platform for political campaign around which revolves a myriad of promises most of which are never delivered.
Malawi politics offers many examples of failed political campaign promises. While the 2019 and 2020 election manifestos of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and as its Tonse Alliance partners campaigned on transforming Malawi into a democratic developmental state, actual situation on the ground is far away from this promise.
A democratic developmental state is what would in popular diction be termed as ‘taking Malawians to Canaan’. The current state of the economy is so bad that one wonders this is what MCP promised. Prices of goods and services continue to rise beyond the reach of an average Malawian. Fuel prices and bus fares have tripled. Tonse Alliance promised cheaper and affordable fertiliser yet prices are currently running away towards K70 000 per bag. This, surely, is not the road to Canaan.
On the governance side, MCP and Tonse Alliance partners promised to reduce the powers of the president. Nothing of the sort has happened in spite of the rhetoric from President Chakwera and Vice-President Chilima.
They also promised to reduce the size of the presidential convoy and replace the fleet with affordable vehicles, yet the convoy remains a winding and snaking spectacle with the usual fuel guzzlers. Until recently, the presidency acquired the appetite for reckless spending through international travel.
On job creation and youth employment, Tonse promised 1 million jobs. On the contrary, the economy is bleeding to the extent that companies are closing thereby contributing to job losses. Recently, Peoples chain stores and Spar supermarkets closed shop. Many businesses are closing down due to lack of forex and unfavorable economic conditions. The 1 million jobs promise is yet to be delivered.
Campaign promises were also made in the area of security. Sadly, Malawi is currently experiencing an increase in robberies, burglaries, and other forms of security threats to life and property. On the energy front, the current state of electricity shortage and unending blackouts cast doubt on the campaign promises for improving electricity for households and industry.
It is easy for MCP and Tonse to blame the war in Ukraine, and also blame the previous administration of the Democratic Progressive Party on some of the challenges the country is facing. Truth be told that Malawians are now more awake and able to assess issues and isolate those that are as a result of the performance of past administrations. Voters deserve better. Campaign promises must be fulfilled. This is the essence of electoral accountability and democratic governance.
