Uncritical citizenry, opposition a threat to governance

Malawians are known for their warm-heartedness and to some extent, their patience in the face of struggles. Not only that, but Malawians are also quite forgiving. It is this trait that has seen even the worst offenders in our society being given the second chance at politics, for instance.

The forgiving nature in Malawians has also seen the country recycling the same politicians, despite such politicians having a bad record such as stealing public money and others. Take, for instance, if Malawians were not forgiving, former president Bakili Muluzi would by now have been locked up in jail following the K1.7 billion scandal.

If Malawians were not forgiving, former president Joyce Banda wouldn’t be allowed to roam freely following the mysterious vanishing of the jet—to this day she cannot comprehensively explain to the public what happened to the jet and how the money from the jet was used.

If Malawians were not so forgiving and warm hearted, President Lazarus Chakwera would by now have released the audit report into the K6.2 billion and K17.5 billion Covid-19 money. He would also by now have fired Kezzie Msukwa who is under Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigations.

But, Malawians coupled with a very weak, disorganised, divided, and uncritical opposition bloc, have given Chakwera a free pass. This is why Chakwera had the audacity to tell Malawians that he could not attend to the Msukwa issue because he was on leave but had time to go out and dance ndombolo. He knew he would be forgiven because we, Malawians, easily forgive and forget.

We have before us very critical issues which I would say, without fear of contradiction, is State capture by Sattar and crew, and yet what has been heard so far is deafening silence from the opposition, civil society organisations (CSO), and the general public.

While the opposition should have been mounting pressure on Chakwera’s government to make sure Sattar and all those he has put in his pocket are thoroughly investigated and face the law, the opposition is busy bickering about someone’s cousin who is of little consequence to what Malawians are facing. The CSOs are also quiet, forget about the confused comedian masquerading as an activist—he probably is just hungry and looking for someone to throw a bone at him and you will not hear from him anymore.

It is important that as a citizenry, we need to develop a critical mind and attitude and hold leaders accountable. The opposition has a critical role in questioning the government and holding it accountable. There has never been an opportune time for the opposition to gain momentum than now when at every turn there is a scandal.

One would be forgiven for thinking that the opposition is silent on the corruption matters because the opposition is just as guilty.

As a country, Malawians cannot afford to keep quiet and give leaders a free pass while they fail to account for something as simple as why a serving minister who was arrested and is under investigation is not yet fired. The opposition needs to play its role of holding the government accountable and stop wasting time and energy on issues of no consequence.

President Chakwera has not faced stiff opposition and this is probably the reason why he freely changes tune on critical issues because he knows no one is going to question him. As a country, we all should be worried about muted critical voices of the citizens, CSOs, and opposition.