It seems there is no end to the problems facing Malawians since independence. If anything, the disillusionment that was felt across the continent when freedom did not deliver what we had hoped for seems to be worsening by the day in our country.
One can comfortably argue that among the countries that formed the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Malawi is worse off in terms of economic and socio-political development. Something is surely wrong with us.
One of our problems is that our political leaders since independence have not learnt to separate personal ambitions from matters of national interest.
This has been a big issue with successive political regimes and has resulted in rising levels of corruption and self-enrichment among politicians at the expense of the common Malawian.
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Those who attached themselves to the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in the early years of the republic benefited greatly from their positions and their families own vast hectares of land and property in this country.
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That is how it began and nobody dared to speak out.
It could be said that things worsened with the dawn of multiparty democracy in 1994 when the United Democratic Front (UDF) promised us freedom without a sense of responsibility.
That freedom meant different things to different people—free to loot, free from work, demanding things for free.
Consequently, that freedom eroded a sense of hard work and responsibility, leading most people to opt for the easiest way out of poverty through whatever illegal means available.
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Today, corruption, mismanagement of resources and lack of accountability are some of our greatest challenges.
The accumulation of debt that is sinking this country deep into crisis is a direct consequence of the above.
It is quite shocking to hear that, just in the last four years of its tenure, the Tonse Alliance Administration has accumulated over K11 trillion in debt.
One wonders what the administration is doing with this money, as the lives of Malawians have not improved.
If we are to be honest, living standards have drastically declined during these years and our currency continues to lose value. It is one thing to accumulate debt and have something to show for it, but that is not what is happening here.
Despite the Tonse Alliance placing Malawians in this dire situation, no one will be held accountable for mismanagement and failure to gain control over the economy.
Whoever told us that we can never do better than this did serious damage to our minds. The Tonse Alliance came into power promising many things, the most important of which was economic stability.
President Lazarus Chakwera even called his predecessor names, including “prince of thieves”, and we thought he would do things differently.
Yet, as we speak, several studies have shown that corruption is still on the rise and that inflation is worse.
The government has not cared to explain to us what is happening and why they cannot fulfil their promises. Instead, they are busy campaigning for the next elections and when that time comes, Malawians will flock to polling stations to vote for them again.
When you look at our policy documents, the country seems to have everything in order, but there is little practicality attached to it.
Take Vision 2020, which we failed to achieve. We were busy singing songs of future prosperity while stealing the resources that would make that possible.
After failing, we recoiled to compose yet another song of a brighter future in Malawi 2063 (MW2063). If you read the policy documents, we are almost rich, but look at what is happening in practice.
With rising debt and massive corruption, there is no way we will achieve MW2063.
In the end, one realises that it never rains but pours for Malawians. Each successive political regime has made this country worse and it is difficult to imagine a way out of this.
Malawi needs leaders who will put the country first, rather than politicians who only care about their personal interests. It is sad that people are still dying of hunger today.
It is unacceptable that our children are still learning under trees.
The healthcare system is in shambles, with people only going to hospitals to die. Yet politicians are living lavishly—driving fancy cars and speaking English at conferences abroad.
