Nankhumwa, Kazako trade barbs on governance
Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa says the country is steadily sliding into a ‘failed State’ as President Lazarus Chakwera and his government are no longer in control of the social and economic systems.
But in an interview, government spokesperson a n d Minister of Information Gospel Kazako hit back at Nankhumwa, saying the opposition does not agree with the government on anything because it sees nothing positive from what the Tonse Alliance administration does.
He said: “It is difficult, therefore, to make sense of what it is saying now, whether they are reasonable or not.
“But looking at the history we have with them, this is the same byproduct of the insatiable addiction to negativity against those Malawians preferred to govern them in 2020.”
In a statement issued on Saturday titled ‘Leadership vacuum sliding Malawi towards failed State’, Nankhumwa alleged the country’s circumstances were unfortunate as the captain of the ship “is loudly sleeping on duty to the point of not being aware of circumstances around him”.
He cited the arrest of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Martha Chizuma, one of his administration’shigh-profile officials, where the President, who is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, claimed was not informed in advance about the impending arrest. Nankhumwa further said the failure by the commission of inquiry on the arrest to come up with what Malawians expected concludes that Chakwera and his key ministers, the Inspector General of Police and most senior State security officers knew about Chizuma’s arrest beforehand.
The opposition leader also reiterated his call to Chakwera to declare a State of National Disaster so as to unlock more support to fight the cholera outbreak which has so far claimed over 800 lives of Malawians out of about 22 000 cases.
He called upon the country ’s traditional donors, cooperating partners, and all stakeholders to work together to support those already investing efforts to contain the outbreak.
“Declaring this outbreak as a State of National Disaster would go a long way to enlist the help that is currently not available. What is President Chakwera waiting for? He wants more productive citizens to die before moving into action? The sad reality is that it is not only cholera we are currently battling. Covid-19 is back, and today, so many Malawians across the country are also facing hunger.
“What is most shocking is the fact that government has reduced the budget for the Ministry of Water and Sanitation despite the surge in cholera cases and deaths from last year. This is a total lack of prudent prioritisation and political will to fight this outbreak,” said Nankhumwa.
Nankhumwa blamed Chakwera for the mess his Tonse Alliance administration has been embroiled in such the $6.8 billion Bridgin Foundation fiasco, the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) and Admarc abuse.
“I wish to urge all Malawians never to trust people with sharp and twisted tongues again. They are full of promises but deliver nothing. Malawians are now suffering and dying… As a nation, we simply cannot proceed on this socio-economic path,” he said.
But Kazako said the opposition sees nothing positive from what the Tonse Alliance administration does.
