High hopes, little to show

Malawians had high hopes when they elected President Lazarus Chakwera in 2020.

Even the diaspora hoped to re-establish their lives and up-scale investments in Malawi, with some returning home to join the march to Canaan.

After all, reverends don’t lie.

But maybe those who voted for losers might have known his indecisiveness when dealing   with pressing challenges.

The current economic problems in Malawi are not natural disasters, but either made or worsened by those who promised milk and honey.

They should stop sleeping on the job like the dying opposition numbed by power scrambles.

But we cannot blame the opposition when Chakwera and Vice-President Saulos Chilima are responsible for public policies.

The Tonse Alliance regime’s hide-and-seek confirms yet again that politics in Malawi is a job opportunity for liars, impostors and opportunists.

When Malawians discover that the governing party is a scam, they elect a new one.

But Malawi is not cursed. Only its leaders are cursed for lying and stealing from the poor. God cannot bless corrupt leaders and their dirty hands.

It is baffling that two years on, the current leadership is not fighting against corruption with the promised energy and sting. Their steps remain lax as if they are captured.

What happened to the man who called his predecessor a pathological thief, “a prince of thieves”?

If the President is not being told the truth while his ship risk sinking, he needs to be reminded that he raised our expectations so high that he cannot afford to fail. He must deliver the nation to the Promised Land.

The President and his inner circle should not be seen to enjoy a high life while the voters die in hospitals lacking essential medicine and care. He must lead by example.

If recent arrests are anything to go by, corruption is also rising in his political bedroom.

Chakwera owes Malawians life-changing action, not flowery speeches. He must not prove his doubters and opposition right that good talkers are not doers indeed.

The President still has the chance to fulfil campaign promises and fix the socioeconomic challenges. He must not sleep on the job.

His corrupt ministers, aides and public servants do not do him justice.

He cannot continue to act sluggishly when called to act with timeliness and decisiveness.

The bitter the pill, the better the results.

It is time the President sacked everyone who makes him appear incompetent and clueless. He must prove that his high-five agenda lives on.

Unnecessary local and global travels should be halted to save forex. Virtual meeting platforms work.

Invest the savings in supporting local production to avoid depleting our forex reserves importing goods we can produce locally. Amid the prevailing supply chain crisis, it is time for the President to ask himself: What have we used forex for? Travelling abroad? Sending sexual partners to Dubai? Importing luxuries? Tomatoes and cabbages, really?

Independence means control and power. Break the grip of corrupt business barons on all spheres of government business.

Their influence of corrupt syndicates shows that our leaders are not doing much to end state capture.

The writing is on the wall: Chakwera must deliver the promised dramatic change. This includes downsizing his motorcade, powers and interference with courts and the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

He should stop paying a listening ear to bootlickers, who defend mediocrity even on matters they have no clue about.

 It is not too late to save the sinking ship. Unless Chakwera is planning to fail, he shall be remembered as a man of glowing speeches and faltering action. History is cruel.

Malawi does not lack embellished speeches. She requires transformative action by a leader everyone can trust.