I do not know whether people who serve as our State presidents like to be lied to or know that they have been lied to but choose not to tell the ‘cheaters’ in the face that they [presidents] know that they have been cheated.
Now, if the presidents know that someone is hoodwinking them into believing that something is being done about a problem, when the opposite is true, then the presidents are, simply put, cowards.
Why am I saying so? Simple. Ever since I was a toddler, I have been perplexed by what most public officers do whenever a sitting president is about to visit an area. If roads in the area are as tattered as a Tropical Cyclone Freddy-ravaged hillside, public officials do their best, even if it means sleeping on site, to ensure that the road is patched up before the president visits the area.
If a sitting president wants to visit a public tertiary education institution that ‘knew’ paint decades before, the public officials do their best to paint it and make it look as if it has always been in perfect condition.
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By public officials, I mean those who work in government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
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When people are applying for jobs in MDAs, they know pretty well that they are serving the public interest. As such, they are supposed to do their best at all times, regardless of whether one, including the president, is watching them or not.
Sadly, this has not always been the case, which explains why public officials panic when the Office of the President and Cabinet, through Secretary to the President and Cabinet, announces that the Number One Citizen is about to visit such and such a place.
The officials rush to that place to scan the scene, sniff at problem-areas and, whether there is money or not, find means of finding the money as well as means of patching up all faulty areas.
It is a form of cheating they are not ashamed of. In fact, they seem proud doing that kind of public ‘disservice’. Yes, cheating is not a service; it is a disservice to whoever it is targeted at.
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This behaviour has gone on and on, especially after the re-advent of multiparty politics.
When Bakili Muluzi was in power, public officials used to repair damaged roads to make it appear as if the roads were in perfect condition before the First Citizen’s visit.
And the president did not speak against it.
Then came Bingu wa Mutharika [may his soul rest in peace) and the same thing happened.
I thought things would change once Joyce Banda took over the joystick of power. It was not to be— and she kept smiling at public officials that fed her such ‘bluff’ meals.
Peter Mutharika? Do not tell me. He used to condone the behaviour, too; for he never condemned public officials who were making hitherto potholed public roads smooth for him.
How about the incumbent president, namely Lazarus Chakwera? The same thing.
He smiles at public officials that patch up potholed roads when his visits are imminent.
If, ever, he has condemned anything to do with unsatisfactory public service, it is this week. And, this time, he did not even speak against the practice of public officials who patch up the roads and paint the buildings; instead, he spoke about private contractors’ tendency to expedite work when they learn that he is about to visit an area.
Speaking during the opening of the multi-billion Kwacha Rumphi Teachers Training College on Wednesday, Chakwera said: “Let us build our projects for future generations; it is absurd that we should keep on maintaining the same projects over and over again… make sure that these contractors are adequately monitored and are constantly pressured so that no one delays to complete assignments. Do not seem to work hard on your projects because the president is coming to inspect the work. They need to be pressured, with me around or not.”
Fine and well but why not speak against the tendency of repairing roads the President uses when visiting areas, most of which are underserviced?
Surely, our presidents seem to love bluff meals.
