National Advocacy Platform (NAP) chairperson Benedicto Kondowe says the Citizen Manifesto currently under formulation is set to improve participatory democracy by ensuring that political authority is derived from the people and not political parties’ interests.
He made the remarks in Lilongwe yesterday when stakeholders gathered to start the formulation of the Citizen Manifesto, a process which is being facilitated by NAP with support from Citizen Alliance and the National Endowment for Democracy.
Kondowe said once completed, the Citizen Manifesto will capture citizen aspirations on the kind of government and leadership they would like to see beyond 2025.
He said: “This initiative is centred around participatory democracy. If you look at Section 12 of the Malawi Constitution, legal and political authority is derived from the people of Malawi.
“But what we have seen in practice is that political parties determine what Malawians want and this initiative seeks to turn around that narrative.”
He said the Citizen Manifesto will enable political parties to respond to Malawians aspirations and leadership needs as reflected in the blueprint, a framework that will show whether political parties are aligned or not.
In his key note address, Tilitonse Foundation chief executive officer Robert White challenged the stakeholders to think beyond elections.
“There is a new world order developing and things are changing like the cutting of foreign aid, an issue that people are concerned about. This is an opportunity to put our agenda forward to shape the future we want,” he said.
White also warned the civil society against compromising themselves by being active political players.
