Defending Peter
At 77, Peter Mutharika is an old man who must be at Chisoka in Thyolo enjoying his retirement. But he and his cronies do not think so. They think the septuagenarian is still bubbly and can be entrusted with the enormous task of running this country.
In 2019, Peter is likely to offer his haggard self on the ballot for another five- year all paid up holiday at State House. Who wouldn’t especially when you come to think of the attendant benefits like free food, free junkets and free everything?
Recently, Peter has come under fierce criticism for his bad and terrible leadership. Of course Peter has never been an impressive leader all his life if you were to look at his track record. A failed Minister of Education, a pathetic Minister of Foreign Affairs and a pitiable Minister of Justice are some of the lines on his resume. But because this country has a curious love for bad things, Peter somehow got his way to State House.
Since 2014 when he took over the mantle from the equally disastrous Joyce Banda, Peter has succeeded in dragging this nation to shame. With less than two years to the end of his term, Peter has, apart from nepotism and cronyism, nothing to back him for another shot at the presidency.
Right now, Malawians are mad at Peter’s leadership for failing to solve the electricity crisis that has become an ulcer on the nation’s wrong place. For instance, Malawians are now forced to endure 24-four hours without electricity and all Peter can do as solutions is bump in board or management meetings. How petty!
It is only a leader who has lost bearings who can think an electricity crisis can be solved by impromptu attendance of a board or management meeting. Peter has been in office for over three years and if he were a manager worth his salt, he could have known long ago that one of the biggest problems that have derailed development of this country is electricity. In his first few months of office, Peter should have realised that Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) fails to function properly because political parties— with the consent of political jingoists that are placed in the board—take it as their fat cash cow. But Peter cannot do that because he knows the loot ends up in his kitty.
But Peter can easily be forgiven. It is not like he is the worst thing that has happened to Malawi neither is he a solution to our country. Peter has a convincing list of predecessors who initiated the loot-and-plunder Malawi Project. I am tempted to think that when he looks at those who came before him and who his potential successors are, Peter has all the liberty to feel better.
Of course Peter should be worried that people have started to look back to the days of Joyce Banda with nostalgia. It is a massive vote of no confidence for a leader to be thought to be less than a horrible manager that was JB. JB messed up this country and getting her out of office was good riddance. Sadly, her replacement happened to be Peter whose cluelessness has brought this country’s development to a screeching halt.
Looking at the alternatives, we happen to have Lazarus Chakwera who, to me, appears to be more rhetoric, style than sense. For the years he has been leader of opposition in Parliament, All I have gotten from the former clergy are reactions and militant statements other than sense.
Atupele Muluzi of the United Democratic Front can as well be written off. Since he opted for a dalliance with Peter and the Democratic Progressive Party, the young Muluzi has become irrelevant. His agenda for change no longer makes sense to some of us. I will not waste newsprint to talk about the other coward parties that only make noise close to general elections.
All I am saying is that Mutharika is not to blame for our problems. The guy proved to be incapable to run things at every ministry and, at his age, it is just wrong and unfair for the nation to burden him with the task of finding solutions for us.
We are to blame as a nation because all our energies are wasted on social media in some irritating tiffs that have been mastered by the so-called cadets, youth leaguers, Orange Youths and whatever youth grouping of the DPP, MCP,PP and UDF. Even just a sigh of the energies put in the vitriol on social media would be enough to generate the electricity that we all long for. But we have chosen to waste time and the agility of youth on useless and senseless attacks and defence.
Once again, let me say that all this mess we are in is because as a nation we choose the wrong people to run our affairs and we expect them to change overnight. My take is, let us stop blaming Peter for our woes. You and I know our leader is old, tired and clueless and it is unfair to expect a lot from him. That is my attempt at defending Peter.
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