UTM Party president Dalitso Kabambe has made ambitious pledges ahead of the September 16 General Election, including dismantling a “culture of impunity” through sweeping reforms, removing presidential immunity and radical austerity measures.
Speaking during the launch of the party’s manifesto at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe on Saturday evening, the former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor pledged to instil a new culture of politics focused on accountability and competence.
Said Kabambe: “If elected, my first act will be to instill new politics of accountability. On day one, I will enforce mandatory payment audits for all government expenditures, remove presidential immunity from prosecution and appoint highly competent individuals to lead the Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB] and Auditor General’s office.”
In the first 100 days in office, he pledged to task the AG with forensic audits targeting State Residences, Malawi Defence Force (MDF), and Malawi Police Service.
He said the audits would scrutinise all expenditures exceeding K5 billion over the past five years.
The UTM leader faulted President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration for economic mismanagement, citing national debt ballooning from K4 trillion in 2020 to K24 trillion, surpassing the K18 trillion debt ceiling Parliament approved in 2023 against MRA revenues of K3.4 trillion.
He said that fertiliser prices have risen by 800 percent from K18 000 in July 2020 to K158 000 now per bag and maize jumped from K6 000 to K100 000, an indication that the country’s economy is at the lowest.
Kabambe proposed a three-year austerity regime, slashing Cabinet portfolios to 18 ministers, eliminating presidential advisers and freezing non-essential spending.
Taking his turn, UTM spokesperson Felix Njawala acknowledged calls for the party to form alliances ahead of the election, but declared that UTM is already in an alliance with the Malawian people.
He vowed that Kabambe will be on the presidential ballot.
During the launch, some short documentaries were played on the big screen which offered glimpses into the party’s founding president Saulos Chilima’s influence and visualised UTM’s aspirations, particularly its strategies for revolutionising agriculture.
The launch was also attended by Chilima’s widow Mary and her daughter Elizabeth. People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) president Mark Katsonga, who the previous day endorsed Kabambe and UTM, also attended the launch.
