SPECIAL INTERVIEW: Joyce Banda

Since the May 20 Tripartite Elections, former Malawi president oyce Banda has been silent. However, many issues have cropped up regarding how she governed that the public yearned for her word. I visited her at her private home in Nyambadwe, Blantyre, for a chat. Excerpts:

1. Good Afternoon, Your Excellency
2. Afternoon to you, too, Mr Nyondo.
3. You led this country for two years. Do you have regrets in the way you governed?

Yes, I governed this country for two years. However, we must not forget that it was not my five-year term; it was late Bingu wa Mutharika’s. I came in to finish the last two years. What I can say, and I will never change this statement, is that what you saw in those two years is the best I could have done. I found the economy in a very bad condition. What I did in those two years is to bring it up to where I left it. The good news is that this is recorded everywhere in the world. You can go to the Ministry of Finance, World Bank or even IMF. They will show you. When I came in, the economy was growing at 1.8 percent. When I came in two million people had no food. When I came in there was money just for a week. There was no fuel, forex—the private sector operating at 35 percent. But when I left—and this was announced in Parliament last week—that the economy had grown by 6 percent. Fuel was available for 15 days and we were building reserves to have a 30-day cover…Simply put, what you saw in the two years was the best I could have done.

1. You seem confident of the way you governed. What, then, do you think could be reason the reason for the failure to get elected into office during May 20 elections?
2. I never want to start discussing elections. You and I know the issues that went around during elections. Perhaps if there had been a recount, then I could be able to answer that question. As far as I am concerned now, there is a new President in the State House. I respect that President; we all must support that President for the benefit of Malawians. Because Malawians hope that from where we left off, is where the economy will go up. Prosperity will continue.

So, I think it would be wrong to drag me, the Weekend Nation and Malawians into a fresh debate. It is not necessary. We passed that. I am satisfied I did a good job. Most Malawians attest to this. Even the whole world has records that we did a good job.

Q.You talked about rebuilding the party when you were returning from the USA recently. How does it feel being in the opposition, your Excellency?

AThe party was not broken. We will continue to strengthen it. I can assure you some in the party, particularly myself, are surprised. I am surprised at the way the party has held together. Usually when a party leaves government and another party comes in, in Africa where money dictates decisions people make, the people should have been scattered, our membership should have gone. But if you notice, the people that leave the party are not those at the grass root structures. It is always few people at NEC, but at the grass root level, the party is intact. That is what has encouraged and inspired [me] not to abandon the party. Then I must ensure that I provide leadership. I was elected as president of the party two years ago. I have a five-year mandate. In 2017, we will go for elections. At the point, the party shall decide the person to be their candidate for the next elections in 2019. For the time being, I am leading the party. The point is that when we get to 2017, I must not be the one to decide whether I am going to stand or not. That is wrong. In a democratic institution like ours, the party must decide its torchbearer. They might say Joyce Banda is old; we want somebody younger. They might say Joyce Banda is a right candidate. That is not my decision.

1. Will you contest at the convention?
2. It is obvious that when you are a president of a party you are a candidate when you go to the convention. But I can tell you that I am not a candidate for 2019 elections. That decision cannot be made by me.
3. The current government is saying the sale of the jet was expensive and illegal. What is your explanation to this?

A.The decision to sell the jet was two-fold. One, if you recall, before I became the president, there was a Public Affairs Committee (PAC) Conference. One of the conditions that came from that conference was that the jet must be sold. To mean, the decision to sale that jet was made by Malawians through the communiqué which the conference made to the president. It was not me. Two, it is not a luxury for a president to have a plane; it is a requirement. Because for me to go to my brother [Almando] Guebuza in Mozambique, it takes me four days because I will have to go through South Africa, sleep there and leave the next day. When I have a plane, as a president, it is one hour. But it was a decision Malawians made; that the plane must be sold. It was in the petition. I had to fulfill that request. But I did not make that decision myself. That is not how I work. I always want consensus. I took the matter to Cabinet. Cabinet confirmed the selling of the jet. In selling that jet, Cabinet also decided how the money would be used once sold. But from there onwards, it had to go to technical people to operationalise the decision by Cabinet…

Q.We have seen senior government officials being fired and demoted from their positions, something President Mutharika defended arguing it is not firing but relocation so that there should be thorough cashgate investigation. What do you make of this?

1. I don’t know. How is somebody at Macra or Admarc involved in cashgate? Are the district commissioners who were demoted also suspects? I have no idea.
2. What’s your comment on what has befallen your sister, Dr Anjimile Oponyo, Ministry of Education’s former principal secretary of who has been transferred to the Office of President and Cabinet?

A.My sister is an expert in education. Her doctoral thesis was on Parental Attitudes to Girls Education. She has always been a teacher. I don’t know if she has been transferred to OPC. When she was told that she should go to OPC, OPC told her to go and sit at home. As I am talking, she is just at home.

1. You were accused of being a president who was always on the road. Why were you doing that?
2. You see, I had 24 months to turn around the economy and at the same time I also had to ensure that I present myself as a candidate. In doing all this, I don’t remember sleeping more than six hours in those two years. You can check that any memo in office, the turnaround period was 24 hours. Whenever I went to the field, I always found time to clear my tray. I never went to bed with my tray full.