Like Chakwera pointed out, time for lording over Malawians or indeed juniors is now over as the Tonse Alliance-led administration believes in the servant leadership philosophy. I feel we have done enough talking as five months have now elapsed since June 2020 when the new administration took over the reins at Capital Hill. Let us face it; everything in this country was in shambles, which probably best explains why Malawians decided to join the then opposition leaders Chakwera and Chilima in demanding and ushering change.
That change at the ballot, however, will prove meaningless if it is not matched with change in the way that operations are run in the public service, which is what Chakwera and Chilima have been trying to instill in the system. The sad reality is that there indeed might be a lot of individuals who have that ‘snake in the grass’ trait; on a mission to derail the plans set out by the new government. If it means paying them off in order to have sanity in some of the ministries, departments and agencies, then so be it. We (meaning Malawians) cannot afford the luxury of having somebody fall asleep on our watch, whose consequences will have an overarching impact on lives of ordinary citizens.
It is not by sheer coincidence that talks about the reforms are happening when the United Nations (UN) has also lit a torch as it commemorates its 75th anniversary. Malawi made a commitment to see to it that it meets the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which the UN set as a successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Malawians must do all it takes to eradicate poverty among the population, have access to clean and safe water, better medical care, protect and promote the interests of vulnerable groups such as girls and women while working collaboratively with other countries, especially when it comes to trade and other economic issues.
National Transformation 2063 can and will only happen if the people, especially those we, Malawians, have employed (through our taxes) in the public service do the actual job of fixing any mess that would stand in our way to prosperity, get down to do the dirty work; there are no two ways about it.
It does not make sense that our president and the second-in-command should be losing sleep over some elements within the system that are far bent on destablising the outlay which the Tonse Alliance-led administration has come up with in the hope of turning around the fortunes of the 18 million-plus Malawians.
I strongly feel the two leaders have said enough; the onus is on those that signed the Public Service Reform Performance Contracts to put in a stellar performance and not let anyone or anything sink the ship.
Enough talking; it is time to act.
Mr. Captain of Africa’s whipping boys, spare us the drama
I was left flabbergasted the other day when I heard that the captain of Africa’s whipping boys, the infamous Flames, had gone to town, accusing the media of being overly critical of the team’s mediocre showing in recent tournaments.
I was surprised that his sentiments even found their way into mainstream media because, quite frankly, the ‘flintless’ Flames Captain and his colleagues do not have any leg to stand on in as far as their shameful displays are concerned. In fact, if it were up to me, the only time that anyone in Flames camp would get as little as two lines in a publication is when they start winning matches, but most importantly, lifting at least one silverware.
But no! These boys have no remorse whatsoever and are not ashamed that they are just throwing Malawian taxpayers’ hard-earned money down the drain by embarrassing themselves and the nation in tournaments. They always pale in comparison to the enchanting Malawi Queens, whose fete on the pitch, as it is, can never be matched by all the male national teams we have in the country, combined.
You want to earn media praises? Start winning games ruthlessly and in no time you will see them eating out of the palm of your hand but, until such a time, let the media be.
So, spare us the drama Mr Captain; prove your worth (with your colleagues) to us all on the pitch and not by picking needless battles.
Stephen Dakalira is a seasoned Journalist who works as Times Group’s Online and Digital Executive Editor. He is also the Assistant Editor of The Sunday Times Newspaper, and author of Full Circle column which appears in Malawi News; all of these under the Times Group stable.
He has previously worked in key positions for some of Malawi’s key media institutions such as Malawi News Agency, Capital FM Radio and Star Radio (Now Timveni Radio).