My Turn

Malawi needs a leader

Day in, day out the marathon of domestic politics gets louder, lousier, wilder and wider… what have you! The noisy heads are getting majestic in their vocal cords, with insults, recycled manifesto, counterfeit hopes as well as empty talk furnished with so much cosmetic truths. All this jazz just to blind the electorates as they beef up their personal economic stamina, family riches and engage higher gears of systematic oppression.

Sadly as the reality is, the poor masses throng to hear such heads doing their political rock and roll via public rallies, functions as well as chameleon projects that are hatched at will. The misery of the people is not an issue to them, what is at issue is how to coin that misery into a hook that enables them gain more and more mileage as regards prestige, wealth and power.

These atmospheres, coupled with a chain of other choruses heavily inflate every other politician with massive hope that they will form the next government just like that. Actually it is this flattery that stimulates politicians and wannabes to dig deeper in their pockets, just to palm-oil such pale cosmetic following. Sometimes people attend these gatherings en masse not because they are fans, but they have been fooled enough that they want to see the source of their foolishness.

Fortunately, it is the recycled politicians that are intoxicated with this kind of fashion in their political adventures. Look at the comedy taking centre stage in the ‘once-upon-a-time-ruling-People’s Party’. The orange sea is in the thick of things hardly a year after Malawians lost confidence in its leadership charisma through the controversial ballot. And at times like these you wonder whether the so called politicians are indeed servants of the people or that the reality is people are their servants.

Imagine, hundreds of thousands of PP supporters were left out in the cold by the party’s torch-bearer soon after the 2014 polls. Now Joyce Banda is at large and the reality is either big wigs dumping the orange regalia or staging some kindergarten coup d’état. Reality must be biting hard to the bone in that camp having performed miserably at the local by-elections last month.

Well, perhaps it is true that nothing is a guarantee in politics. Friends become enemies and enemies can hatch a friendship, round and round this circle can keep going. However, one guarantee could be the signs and symptoms of vintage recycled political heads. There include ‘taming snakes’, castigating critics, intimidating opponents, blaming failures on others, fault finding (without offering solutions), mudslinging propaganda, individualising every successful government project. This list can go on and on as we have all seen, lived and experienced it. The rest is a story for another day altogether!

It is my hope and prayer that youngsters venturing into politics will not inhale this sort of infection that ultimately rewards individuals, families, tribes et al, other than Malawians across the board.

Most of our political leaders lack a vibrant moral character that has strong conviction beyond winning office. Malawi needs a leader who will do what is right without minding the next polls. The elections’ focused type of leadership is a great betrayal to this country. This is a gap that our society has inherited from wherever and ‘politicians’ take advantage of the same to eclipse deserving ‘leaders’ to carry the day and lead Malawi to brighter days.

Hate it or love it but Malawi needs a leader and not a politician. You see, a closer look at politicians reveals that beyond resolutions, policies, promises, spiced speeches, there is very little action hence continued staggering as well as trial and error governing styles.me.

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