Zikhale Ng’oma under fire
The former governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has taken a swipe at Homeland Security Minister Ken Zikhale Ng’oma for asking chiefs to dance at a political rally and threatening them with promotions.
During the said rally at Chinjika in Phalombe District on July 16 this year, the minister also stated that he will report to his Local Government counterpart Richard Chimwendo Banda about people’s demand to have Phalombe district commissioner Douglas Moffat removed.
In a statement released yesterday, DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said chiefs are failing to afford meals a day, and as such, it is worrisome that the minister whose government is ‘economically impoverishing chiefs’, has the courage to dangle a carrot of promotions.
Reads the statement in part: “Honourable minister, our beloved chiefs are people of great integrity. They cannot sacrifice their wisdom on the altar of lies and deceit and continued impoverishment of the people they represent as per traditional customs.
“Do not take us back to the dark ages of one party state whereby chiefs could disappear without a trace, they could be used to imprison people all just to sustain the one party government in power.”
Namalomba further said the DPP was displeased with Ng’oma’s conduct, insisting corrupting chiefs with elevation will not change anything on the ground, and that the masses are suffering due to a number of socio-economic ills.
“The economy is in a junk state. It is not the elevation of chiefs that will make a difference. Government is failing to pay honorarium to chiefs. The government promised chiefs 100 percent increase in their honorarium, but up to now no one has been paid.
“Our chiefs are economically suffering and it amazes the world, therefore, that a sensible Government official, whose government is economically impoverishing chiefs, has the courage to dangle a carrot of promotions,” he added.
This week, the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) also issued a statement, condemning Ng’oma’s remarks on the DC, saying it was profoundly disturbed and shocking.
In an interview yesterday, governance pundit Mavuto Bamusi said Ng’oma, demands are in conflict with a democratic dispensation.
“The remarks are undemocratic, unconstitutional and unpatriotic,” he said.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Blantyre City South East legislator Sameer Suleman also wondered how Ng’oma would call for the removal of the DC.
However, in his response, Chimwendo Banda said some people were trying to exaggerate the matter as Ng’oma never stated that the DC should be fired.
“The Minister of Homeland Security never said fire DC ,” he said.
On his part, Ng’oma said some people were simply trying to bring confusion and divisions among ministers.
“Our opposition friends are not happy with what is happening in the Southern Region. They thought MCP cannot penetrate the Southern Region, but now they ware creating friction in our camp that we are fighting. They want to bring conflicts between us,” said the minister, who is also the ruling party’s national director of strategic planning.
