Chakwera out to DRC for ‘urgent talks’

President Lazarus Chakwera leaves for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today for the inauguration of that country’s President Felix Tshisekedi and “urgent in-person talks” on security matters relating to Malawi troops on a peacekeeping mission.

The President’s trip comes amid a foreign travel ban he imposed last November as part of austerity measures to bring the economy on track. He had indicated that if there are no pressing issues, he would not travel until March this year.

Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu confirmed the President’s trip in an interview yesterday and justified it as crucial.

He said:  “I can confirm that the President will travel to Kinshasa, DRC to hold bilateral talks with Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, President-elect of DRC, on the sidelines of his inauguration, scheduled to take place on 20th January 2024.

“The President has had to temporarily suspend his programme of public engagements in the Southern Region to undertake this unscheduled trip to Kinshasa, at the behest of Mr Tshisekedi, who has invited President Chakwera to hold urgent in-person talks with him on regional security matters that affect Malawi Defence Force [MDF] troops currently deployed in peacekeeping activities in Eastern DRC.”

However, despite the justification, the trip has not gone down well with governance and public expenditure tracking experts who argue it shows indecisive leadership and smacks of hypocrisy.

On his part, Mavuto Bamusi said the decision means austerity measures have been abandoned by the top leadership.

He said: “It implies that austerity measures are not taken seriously as it strongly shows that the austerity measures are mainly meant for junior public servants. This means that what the government implements is selective.

“This may erode the trust which citizens have on political leadership since it creates an impression that promises are made and easily broken.”

Mzuzu-based Charles Kajoloweka said Chakwera’s action was not surprising, he  has never been consistent on policy commitments.

He said: “This chameleon character is a recipe for erosion of public confidence and trust in his leadership and administration.

“A good example is how his administration unceremoniously reversed a ban on lakeshore meetings. If anything, he should inform the public about the reversal of the travel ban. Hypocrisy should not be mistaken for austerity.”

In a separate interview, governance expert George Chaima said the trip does not make sense since the President could have delegated.

In agreement, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said it was wrong for  the President to defy his own austerity measures and policy direction.

He said: “There must be a real justification and importance of this trip. It is our hope that the President will explain to Malawians the economic value of this trip.”

Accountability and governance expert Willy Kambwandira said Chakwera’s flip-flopping on his decisions was partly due to lack of pressure from the civil society and the citizenry.

“Essentially, he is taking Malawians for granted,” he said.

In November last year, the President  said he had cancelled all international trips until March this year, starting with the trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Conference of Parties (CoP28) in that month.

The measures came on the back of an International Monetary Fund executive board approval of $175 million Extended Credit Facility for Malawi to help stabilise the economy.n