Good-riddance 2022
During the run-up to the June 23 2020 court-sanctioned fresh presidential election, one of President Lazarus Chakwera’s rallying calls was that he was going to change the way government is run in Malawi, but now as we are saying good bye to 2022, and set to welcome 2023, it is apparent that one of the most noticeable things Chakwera has changed is the singing of all the three verses of the Malawi National Anthem! Nothing much to write home about.
As we go into a fresh year, which, I dare say draws us to another election in 2025, eyes will focus on Chakwera’s leadership and see if he will be the change he advocated during the campaign and not the enigmatic leader he has become, one who leaves the rest of us with more questions than answers.
To say the least, 2022 has been a year laden with problems in nearly every sector of society. And, sadly, Chakwera’s leadership has shown no evidence of making things work.
The ending year saw the return of fuel shortages robbed us of so many man-hours as people spent time queuing for fuel instead of going about our businesses. The shortages brought hikes not only in transport fares but also in other commodities as traders paid more in transportation.
It would appear the problems in 2022 were competing to outdo each other on which one would inflict more pain on Malawians than the other. And, apparently, Chakwera was nowhere to be seen to sort things out. In fact, his leadership was only there to fuel the problems.
When the fuel shortages became evident, the authorities under Chakwera told us it was the result of an international music show and football match in the capital city. In his slow-motion leadership style, Chakwera admitted what was speculated that it was all the result of shortage of forex.
At the height of a President leading from behind, there came the arrest of Martha Chizuma, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) over flimsy charges. It was a bit embarrassing for the President—who was supposed to be meeting Chizuma that morning as she was running between a police holding cell in Namitete (read 48 kilometres from her home where she was arrested in pyjamas)—to say he did not know anything about the arrest.
Even his ministers of Information, Justice and Homeland Security, and even the Inspector General of Police, did not know who ordered Chizuma’s arrest. Talk about a government within the government, this is it! And Chakwera must have been the first to show that he was in control.
He acted. His action was to suspend the Director of Public Prosecutions Steven Kayuni, who lodged a complaint against Chizuma. Chakwera’s action was to appoint a commission of inquiry to find out who was involved in Chizuma’s arrest. His action on December 10 was to give that commission 14 days to report back to him. As I write, it is 19 days since then and, I suppose, the report is still being compiled. Nothing new under Chakwera.
As a Malawian, I am naïve to think that the intelligence was at the President’s fingertips and he could have summoned the relevant authorities to find who acted behind his back in the fight against corruption. As we have been told before, they are sorting out every problem the Malawi Congress Party way.
Do I need to remind you about the fertiliser deals that went awry? K750 million was paid to a ‘butchery’ in the United Kingdom to buy fertiliser. No one has faced the music for that gross abuse. The victims were former Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe and his deputy Agnes Kambauwa Wirima, who were fired in October. Apart from that, no other action has been taken. Neither have there been any action on those other fertiliser deals where another lot was supposed to be purchased from a Chinese textile dealer!
It is obviously clear that the Agricultural Inputs Programme is there for the benefit of the chosen few near the seat of Government that makes executive decisions. The hood is off: alimi aang’ono amangopakidwa mafuta pakamwa basi.
For the first time in the history of the Republic, we saw Lowe single-handedly closing Admarc. The grain dealer was set up by an Act of Parliament and it is the Ministry of Finance that has the highest stake in it, how Lowe got it to close the parastatal defeats all reason.
Well, Chakwera will tell you, he didn’t know anything about the Admarc’s closure.
The year 2022 remains a year when cholera deaths have been the worst. The World Health Organisation in November said the endemic outbreak is the worst in a decade. Records show that so far, the worst was between October 2001 and April 2002, when 968 deaths were recorded. This year, the death toll was 508 as of Wednesday this week. It has been devastating this year, since the deaths rose even in the dry season.
The President acted in March by declaring an outbreak in March. He acted again on December 5 by declaring cholera as a public health emergency. He acted by shifting duties of Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 to focus on cholera.
The Minister of Civic Education Timothy Mtambo, on his part, has acted by remaining silent when some people are shunning to go to hospital earlier when they have signs of the disease for fear of being mocked. Mtambo has used his right to remain silent (he is very good at fundamental human rights and, even better, at defending them) when there are so many misconceptions flying around about cholera!
Well, Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia has acted to the cholera outbreak by suspending water tariff hikes until March. A bit late, you would say, but then, the taps are dry. Look at the sanitation in the markets, then you will know the response from her ministry is laughable.
I am not here to try and spoil the fun. Happy New Year to you all. We will have all the answers we need in 2023, if we ask for them! n
