Former Minister of Civic Education and National Unity, Timothy Pagonachi Mtambo, has challenged citizens to collaborate with President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera in devising solutions for addressing social and economic hardships emanating from the recent depreciation of the local currency and other external factors.
Addressing journalists in Lilongwe on Saturday, Mtambo observed that while the majority of Malawians are finding it hard to access to basic necessities, blaming Chakwera and his administration will not change anything.
He said there is a need for a collective and pragmatic approach to address these challenges, stressing that it would be pointless for Malawians to blame President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera and his administration for the multiple crises the country is facing.
“The majority can hardly afford one meal a day and our health care system continues to struggle. The impact of the recent devaluation cannot be overemphasized, and corruption continues to impair our institutions. While we understand that the effects of natural disasters, the Russia Ukraine war and Covid-19 may have been inhibiting progress, the current challenges require a decisive, collective and a pragmatic approach,” he said.
The Citizens For Transformation (CFT) Commander-In-Chief further also announced his ‘calling’ to always stand with the downtrodden and the underprivileged Malawians in demanding good governance from the incumbent administration.
Mtambo said it was sad that while the victory in 2020 gave Malawians a lot of hope and expectations, life has continued to be hard for most Malawians.
“I wanted to remind you that after winning the struggle we developed a political project known as the ‘Citizens for Transformation People Power Movement (CFT)’. Some people may have thought that I was discarding my activism hat. But I can assure you that I have remained an activist at heart and will remain as such as long as I live. When we went to vote on that chilly morning of June 2020, we all had expectations that we were going to the promised land, a land of milk and honey.
“Fellow Malawians, promises were made, and we all believed in the change that was to come. My fellow youth who in their large numbers voted with expectations of more job opportunities, easy access to business loans, equal employment opportunities, peace and freedom are becoming impatient. Fellow countrymen, it is not a secret that while the current administration has done well in other areas, our country is still facing many economic challenges which Malawians thought would come to an end after the current administration came to power.
“We are still in abject poverty and commodity prices are rising every day. The gap between the rich and the poor is increasing, and the sluggish economic growth is partly due to lack of decisive political and economic leadership. Currently we are grappling with passport, sugar and hunger crises. Fellow Malawians, this is clearly not the change we all aspired for and for sure we cannot keep quiet as citizens, we have a duty to actively participate,” said Mtambo.He said is ready to work with any political party or leader in providing checks and balances to the government, observing the weak opposition both inside and outside parliament, coupled with intra-political battles, have not helped in providing the much needed checks-and-balances to the current administration.According to Mtambo, a strong opposition is very important for both our democracy and development.“We have clear evidence that Malawi saw progress when we had a strong opposition during the leadership of President Bingu wa Muthalika, May His Soul continue to rest in Peace. It is against this background that we can no longer keep quiet but to rise to our occasion to start providing checks and balances. Doing so does not mean we hate the government and the leadership, only that we love Malawi more (patriotism) and it is our duty to participate and help those delegated to govern on our behalf. As your son of the soil with whom you endured the scorching heat and itchy teargas on the streets 4 years ago, I will surely continue fighting for a better Malawi. We are here not to compete but complement, to build and not destroy,” he said.
