So much is happening, and so, this week, I want to tackle three issues that have been trending and making headlines.
First on Inkosi Ya Makhosi (IYM) M’mbelwa V. Sceptics may ask: What else can a Mzimbaian village head say about his chief? Well, take it from me, nothing but the truth.
So, at this year’s Umtheto— the Mzimba Ngoni annual cultural gathering—on Saturday, at Hora in the district, IYM seemed to have touched a raw nerve. He censured two local commercial banks for branding the cultural festival political and therefore ineligible for support from them.
The truth is that it is unfair for the commercial banks which have been around for many decades to brand Umtheto political and not support it on that basis. The Ngoni royalty sounding not amused told the banks it would have been OK with him if they just declined to support the group without embellishing their stance with an untruth. I cannot agree more.
The banks’ position highlights the danger of painting all cultural gatherings in the country with the same brush. Granted, some of them can easily fit the bill. Take Mulhakho wa Alhomwe formed in 2007, for example. The group was founded by a politician, former president Bingu wa Mutharika. He was its patron until his death in 2012. Its current patronage is held by Bingu’s brother, former president Peter Mutharika, another politician. From that perspective, it would not be far-fetched to tag it as political. In fact, some have argued that Mulhakho wa Alhomwe is actually a political construct. So, it is not just who founded the group that makes it political but also how it is run.
But Umtheto is ver y different. Launched in 2008 by the late IYM M’mbelwa 1V, the patronage of the festival runs through the Ngoni Jele royalty. The annual festival is one of the activities of the Mzimba Heritage Association (Mziha) whose constitution makes people who hold political positions ineligible to vie for posts in the entity. The IYM is also the patron of Mziha—a cultural and development organisation for the people of Mzimba and beyond.
From the foregoing we can see that the IYM’s reaction to those branding Umtheto as political was not unfounded.
I now turn to the altercation between Vice-President Michael Usi and the Malawi Congress Par ty (MCP) spokesperson Jessie Kabwila. Usi, who is also the leader of Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu (Ozam), is running for the presidency in the September 16 elections and so he is on a campaign trail.
This week, he blasted the MCP-led government, which he is part of as Veep, of fuel ling corruption. Among other things, he said he regretted his role in the current administration, saying he has witnessed “so much evil” within government since 2020 when he was first appointed as a Cabinet minister.
As the second in command in this administration, Usi should have known better and done better about how to report corruption. Anyone seriously wanting to report graft goes to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Under Section 10 (1) (B) of the Corrupt Practices Act, citizens are obligated to resist, reject and report “suspected corrupt practices or offences” to the bureau. Usi has been a Cabinet minister for five years with one of those years as Veep. Surprisingly, he has done nothing about the “so much evil” he has allegedly witnessed in government. But now that he has not been picked as President Chakwera’s running mate, he goes about barking at market places and political rallies that there is rampant corruption in high offices in the government. One cannot fail to see that he has a grudge against government and he is just politicking.
Seriously, why did he not do so earlier? He is trying to look like an angel. But nobody will take him seriously! As some have said, the noble thing for him to do is to first resign and only then will people think he is not complicit to the alleged wrongdoing he is trying to report. And if I were Usi, I would have been grateful to Chakwera for putting him where he is and giving him a life-long pension he would never have if it were not for someone’s misfortune.
Talking about running mates, I like the fighting spirit in Chakwera’s running mate engineer Vitumbiko Mumba (Vazm). He is living his people-centred philosophy. From the short period he was at the helm of the Ministry of Labour and now Trade and Industry, he has turned the tables in the two ministries, demonstrating unparalleled determination to revolutionise operations of the ministries. He has shown that it is possible to change the way government conducts its affairs debunking the theory that the wheels of government move at a snail’s pace. Thankfully, his brave and heroic efforts have not gone unnoticed. The goal-getter has turned himself into an instant darling across the demographics nationally and most importantly for MCP. With his appointment as Chakwera’s running mate, he has become the beacon of hope for the youth.
snhlane@mwnation.com; Cell: 0888833906
