Former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has described the year 2023 as the worst for Malawians, stating that Malawians went through unprecedented extent of suffering and hardship that confronted them in the year.
DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba – in a New Year statement – said the suffering and hardships Malawians faced in the year gone by were so unforeseeable and unbearable that the country’s grim of hope has reached its cul-de-sac.
Namalomba has attributed the suffering and hardships Malawians went through to the Tonse Alliance government, which he said lacked vision and clear policies for bailing citizens out of poverty.
“DPP and well-meaning Malawians know that the problems that entangled the country’s fabric of hope are man-made, largely emanating from incompetence, arrogance, corruption and prioritization of politics over development that were demonstrated distinguishably in the year by the MCP-led government. The DPP knows there are global issues affecting the global economy, but a basic analysis of those problems point to the fact that, as Malawians, we have suffered disproportionately a larger share than all our neighbors. The year 2023, we felt the economic punch of President Chakwera’s globetrotting and extravagance,” he said.
The DPP spokesperson further said that President Chakwera’s lust for frequent internal and external travels contributed to the dwindling of the economy, stating that the travels pushed the budget of the State Residence from MK4billion under His Excellency Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika’s regime to over MK30 billion under Chakwera administration.
“It’s clear, while the MCP government is asking Malawians to sacrifice, top leadership refuses to walk the talk, and is instead having ‘Father Christmas’ on a daily basis. Is this what MCP terms ‘servant leadership’?” he asked.
On the economic front, Namalomba says the Chakwera administration has delivered shambles contrary to the economic aspirations of Malawians.
He said the extent the economic mismanagement by the MCP-government in the year has been odd and spectacular, adding that several companies in their end of year Trading Statements have confessed how man-made devaluation, forex crisis and other poor economic policies have made them to register losses.
“Further, the year has been the toughest in memorable years for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which were pushed to close down, scaled down or struggle for survival due to economic mismanagement of the MCP regime. While it is to be at the heart of each and every political regime to lead an economic transformation and renaissance that uplifts its people from jaws of poverty into economic stardom, the MCP government does not seem to care, and if it does, then it goes back to the question of their readiness, appropriateness and competence to govern. The year has been the worst for motorists who had to either queue for days to get fuel or who currently pay about MK2 600 to get just one litre of petrol or diesel. The DPP believes this outstanding lack of apathy and consideration by the MCP government is unacceptable,” reads the statement.
It continues, “Further, in the year 2023, the MCP government devalued the local currency by 67%. And even after devaluing the local currency, the country continues to be gripped in a protracted forex crisis. The question DPP and well-meaning Malawians continue to ask is: “If these unbearable economic problems were happening under DPP, what would President Chakwera have said”? When DPP left government, inflation was about 8%, and just three years into the MCP government, inflation is at more than 33%, and the second question, well-meaning Malawians would want to ask President Chakwera is: “What would you have said if His Excellency Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika had inherited an economy with 8% inflation, but lose hold of it and loose it to over 33%?”
On agriculture, Namalomba has expressed disappointment with the way the government has implemented the 2023 Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP), describing it a mess and a mere shadow of what it has been professed to be.
He expressed sadness that the very same fertilizer Malawians were promised to buy at MK4, 495 per 50kg is now pegged beyond an average Malawian’s reach. Presently, fertilizer is selling in excess of MK87 000 per bag.
He said even the intended beneficiaries of the programme cannot be traced.
“We have had AIP on paper but not on the ground. We mourn with Malawians for being betrayed. We cry with the common man and woman for being neglected by the very same regime he or she trusted. All we have gained in agriculture has been mere rhetoric. All we have seen has been endless launching of agricultural programs which are reflecting nothing on the ground. One wonders, what happened to effective project implementation. One wonders, do we have the much touted-reforms in the country?” said Namalomba.
