JB dares critics to probe her
Malawi President Joyce Banda has dared her critics to investigate her should they think she is amassing wealth from the public purse. She claimed she is clean.
Banda was speaking in the capital, Lilongwe on Tuesday after laying a foundation stone for the Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) and Henan Gouji Corporation of China joint housing project.
The President said she always works hard to take Malawians out of poverty because even if one amasses a lot of wealth when they die they would leave the world with nothing.
She said: “I am challenging those who think that I am amassing wealth to go and check wherever they can to see if they can find evidence. We saw it for ourselves right here that no matter how much wealth one accumulates, when death comes, you leave everything behind.”
Her comments come against the background of recent revelations indicating that her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, who died on April 5 2012, left an estate worth over K61 billion (about $152m).
Banda, who signed the switch in diplomatic ties from Republic of China (Taiwan) to the People’s Republic of China when she was Mutharika’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2008, said Malawi made the right decision on the move.
On the new housing project, Banda said apart from improving the outlook of the cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu, many Malawians will have an opportunity to buy decent houses.
Said Banda: “Adequate and decent shelter is one of the basic needs which include food, health, education and employment. It is a given fact that lack of adequate housing compromises development and eventually leads to the escalation of many social ills that usually arise from homelessness.”
According to the President, about 84 000 people are on the MHC waiting list because the cost of building materials is mostly overpriced, retarding the growth of the housing industry.
Under the project, about 10 000 houses will be built in the cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu.
