Usi ends tour with unity call

Vice-President Michael Usi has wrapped up his two weeks engagements in the Southern Region with a call for UTM Party supporters to be united, saying they are one family.

In an exclusive interview after interacting with vendors at Ndirande Market in Blantyre, Usi said it was embarrassing to note that there seems to be factions within the party is denting its image.

He noted that the division will not take the party and the country at large anywhere, saying people need solutions to the challenges they are facing.

Said Usi: “So we need to bring the people together and, after all, we are one people.

“When we come to a round table to discuss and agree on how we move forward, people will laugh at us and say look at those people, they quarrelled, they fought and now they are together. This won’t give us a good picture at all.”

UTM Party secretary general Patricia Kaliati on Sunday reaffirmed that Vice-President Usi is the party’s leader until an elective convention that will usher in new leadership.

Kaliati was speaking at a rally the party oragnised in Mzuzu in memory of vice-president Saulos Chilima who died last month in a plane crash. This  was the second time Kaliati affirmed Usi’s leadership after saying the same last week in Thyolo when the party welcomed former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor Dalitso Kabambe into its fold. But some sections of the party supporters on Sunday carried placards bearing messages that Usi must leave the party.

During his stay in Blantyre, Usi, among others, conducted surprise visits to Chikwawa and Thyolo district council offices as well as Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) offices in Umoyo House.

He also inspected the rehabilitation of Blantyre Cultural Centre and visited a number of markets where he assured vendors to access National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef) loans without collateral.

But commenting on his surprise visits, Usi said the main objective was to get first hand impressions on what happens in government offices.

He said: “My visits were not aimed at embarrassing anyone. They were rather to engage and discuss on time management, record keeping, appraisals and also to affirm government’s commitment to support them.

“Some people need to be pushed to work.  That is why the government machinery has to come into play so that people are adhering to what is expected of them.

“I am in good terms with Cabinet ministers, so whatever I do I will be communicating to relevant ministries so that we are on the same page.”

Commenting on Usi’s surprise visits to public offices, a developmental scholar and analyst at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) Andrew Kaponya commended the Veep, saying it is an open secret that the civil service from Capital Hill to various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) “is sick”.

He observed that some civil servants need to be pushed to do right things and that Usi has made a strong statement.

Said Kaponya: “One important thing we must know is that our people are very arrogant. You visit them today, tomorrow they know you are not there, they revert to old habits.

“So one thing that must be done is consistency, not necessarily in a physical visit, but the Vice-President must put in place a system of checking controlling officers.”

Catholic University of Malawi development studies senior lecturer Justine Mangulama is on record as having said Usi’s surprise visits were aligned with Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy which calls for mindset change in pursuit of the aspiration to transform the economy to middle income status.

He urged Usi and senior government officials to extend the surprise visits to other MDAs to appreciate the actual situation on the ground.

“If civil servants know that they can be visited anytime, they will be vigilant and we can improve service delivery,” said Mangulama.

Besides the surprise visits, Usi on Sunday interacted with traditional leaders in Phalombe where Paramount Chief Kaduya asked government to swiftly intervene on the hunger situation in the district.