The flip side of federalism push

The debate on federalism has been simmering for a long time. Unlike in the past when proponents were only keen on getting Parliament to adopt the system, this time round, the focus of the debate is towards persuading Government to hold a referendum on the matter.
A bit of background is important at this point.
The debate on federalism first got a real push in June 2018, when Rumphi East legislator Kamlepo Kaluwa (then People’s Party) took a bold stand and tabled a motion proposing a federal system among other reasons to ensure equity in allocation of resources across the country. At that time Malawi Congress Party (MCP) members, then in opposition, supported the motion. But the bill fell short of garnering majority support in the House and fell flat on its belly.

In September 2019, Mzimba North member of Parliament Yeremiah Chihana brought the bill back in Parliament proposing a constitutional change from unitary to a federal system of government. Like was the case during its maiden tabling, debate on the bill was polarized along regional lines. Most members from Northern and Central regions supported the bill while those from the Southern Region were on the government side and opposed it.
Proponents of federalism argue that the government, which has been led by presidents from the Southern region since Malawi’s return to multiparty democracy in 1994, has neglected the other two regions, especially the North, in terms of infrastructure development and social services. They have also been accusing the government of nepotism in appointments to State institutions and of adopting discriminatory policies such as a quota system for selecting students into public colleges and universities.
Those on the opposing side argue that federalism is a recipe for further tribal cleavages. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)—which was then in power—accused the opposition of being bad losers and was resorting to divisive politics to gain political power.

This time round, the bill was referred to the Legal Affairs Committee of the House for further scrutiny and was expected to be back on the floor for deliberation once the committee prepares its report. But it is now almost two years since the bill was referred to the committee. The question on the lips of many enthusiasts and followers is: What is the progress?
In the intervening period, there has been change of guard at Capitol Hill. DPP is out and in came the Tonse Alliance administration. What has this change in government done to the support for federalism? Does MCP, now at the helm of government, still support federalism? Conversely, will DPP, now in the opposition, support the system?

The debate has since changed direction. While previously it was about persuading Parliament to adopt a federal system of government, it is now about getting Government to hold a referendum on the matter. My view is that the discourse on the matter is now more refined and better focused. The question now being put to all Malawians is for them to decide what system of government they want to follow. Just as in 1993, Malawians voted for a multiparty system, they should now also decide if they think a federal system can serve them better. It is a better approach to the matter.

But before this debate goes anywhere, let’s look at the possible scenarios. In 2019, when MCP was in the opposition, it supported federalism. Does the party still support the movement even after getting in government? I doubt. As a ruling party, anything else with potential to change the status quo is likely to be viewed as disruptive. But conversely, DPP is now more likely to nod for federalism being that they are where MCP was when it was in support of the system. The reason is that political parties in Malawi follow anything that can get them into government.

All said the bottom line is that proponents of federalism have a humongous task of demystifying federalism. What is it? How does a federal system work? What are its benefits? They need to take the debate to the people. The last time I checked, a majority of people were mistaking it for federation as in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. A majority of the people I have interacted with have absolutely no idea what federalism is all about. A majority of callers in one radio’s phone-in programme I listened to in 2020 were like ‘why should we go back to a system we did away with before independence?’ The harvest is huge but the labourers are few. n