Strife worries DPP top brass
Former finance minister Goodall Gondwe and some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members have said they are concerned with lack of dialogue in the party.
Gondwe and other three party vice-presidents Kondwani Nankhumwa, Bright Msaka and Zeria Chakale have said in separate interviews there is need for all party factions to meet and resolve their differences.
The sentiments come amid wrangles that have split the party into two factions since it lost power in 2020.
One faction is supporting Nankhumwa in his tussle over the presidency and the position of the Leader of Opposition while another group that includes Gondwe, Msaka and Chakale, is supporting party leader Peter Mutharika and wants him to retain his role.
The wrangles have also paralysed the party’s leadership in parliamentary committees such as the Public Accounts Committee.
In an interview on Thursday, Gondwe, who is also the party’s vice-president for the North, said he feels ashamed with the status quo. He attributed the challenge to the young generation’s desire for leadership without following procedures.
Said Gondwe: “What is happening in the party is not different from what Malawi Congress Party [MCP] went through when they got out of government. You remember the tussle for party leadership after Kamuzu Banda died in 1997 between Gwanda Chakuamba and John Tembo?
“So, I know the wrangles in DPP have been there for some time, but we will overcome it. However, I am sorry and ashamed of what is happening.”
He said several attempts have been made to resolve the wrangles, but the younger generation does not want to follow party procedure. “To me, procedure must always be respected.
While we want to be procedural, the young ones want immediate change, so that’s the constraint we have,” said Gondwe. DPP vice-president (Centre), Chakale said she was disappointed that the Nankhumwa faction takes party conflicts to court when they can be resolved internally.
She said: “You see, as a party, we don’t take members to court. But we are being dragged to court. So, we simply go there to respond.
“But in the DPP, there are internal structures of resolving issues. Therefore, we need to come together as a team and resolve the disagreements.”
Nankhumwa and his faction dragged the party to court following his expulsion from the party and removal as the Leader of Opposition role.
On his part, Msaka, who is the party’s Eastern Region vice president, said the goings-on in the party were deeply worrying.
He said: “The divisions in the party are a concern and I hope that the duty of any leader, and should it happen that I am the one at the helm, from day one, I will ensure that we get united,” he said.
Nankhumwa on Thursday said he also wants unity in the party, but expects Mutharika and the DPP secretary general Greselder Jeffrey to call for the central committee meeting soon.
He said: “What has been happening is that the central committee that is called for a meeting has people who are not members, leaving out eligible members.
“So, any meeting for us must be an all inclusive central committee. It has to be summoned following party constitution.” Article 9 (2) of the DPP constitution stipulates that members of the central committee are the party president, vice-presidents, secretary general,treasurer general and national directors of women and youths.
The president may also invite a member of the national governing council to the meeting where the administrative secretary also serves as secretary to the committee.
“So, it is very important that we meet and iron out the issues. But that meeting must be called using proper procedures,” said Nankhumwa.
He further said he agrees that the party has structures to resolve intra-party conflicts, but they need to be followed.
“If that is done, we will all be there and meet,” said Nankhumwa.
In a recent interview, University of Malawi (Unima) associate professor of political science Boniface Dulani said it was unfortunate that instead of uniting and working to offer sober critiques of the Tonse government and proposing alternatives, DPP appears intent on self-cannibalism.
“At a time when many Malawians are expressing dissatisfaction with the Tonse government’s performance, squabbles do not give much confidence that the DPP is a government in waiting,” he said.
Cracks in the former governing DPP came to light after Jeffrey in August 2020 told The Nation that party leader Peter Mutharika, had done his part and the party needed a new person to lead it into the future, calling for an early convention.
