Consultations for the review of the National Peace Policy (NPP) have established that failure by government to implement some of its campaign promises is one of the factors breeding political violence.
The Department of Peace and National Unity in the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture contracted consultant to review the NPP of 2017 and develop its successor.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the consultations held in Mzuzu on Thursday, the consultant Master Dicks Mfune who is a peace and security expert, said the socio-economic context has changed since the NPP was developed in 2017.
politics have changed. | Nation
He said frustration among Malawians, especially the youth, is a trigger for surging political violence in the country, which he indicated is one of the issues the new policy must tackle.
Said Mfune: “The dynamics in politics have changed. For example, the current administration had a social contract with Malawians on the things it would deliver.
“But the youth are unemployed and politicians are taking advantage of them. This is a trigger for political violence.”
He said from the consultations in Mzuzu and Blantyre, it has emerged that Malawians are demanding a strong political will from the presidency as regards execution of campaign promises.
Mfune , who is also Interuniversity Network for Peace and Development chairperson, said in the run up to the September 16 General Election, the Malawi Peace and Unity Commission must be well-funded to build the capacity for conflict prevention and resolution stakeholders.
“The 11 district peace and unity committees we have need to be trained. Currently, we also need dialogue and that calls for funding. For well-wishers to help in funding the commission, they want it to be independent and credible.”
On his part, the ministry’s di rector of peace and unity Emmanuel Bambe said from the consultations, stakeholders have pointed out political and socio-economic issues as underlying causes of conflict.
He said: “If we are fragile economically, that is a basis for creating a society that is difficult to manage. As such, we feel that a peace policy has to be encompassing. Let us sort out underlying causes.
“ Let there be citizen involvement, providing feedback where necessary. If we have a stable community economically and politically, then that will be easy to govern.”
The United Nations Development Programme is funding the consultations and the review process.
The process involved data collection at district level and regional focus group discussions, after which the consultant will consolidate the input and call for another meeting to validate it with the support of key principal secretaries.
The policy review was scheduled to end today, but according to Bambe, the process could spill to April end.
