By Taonga Sabola, Isaac Salima, Jarson Malowa & Patience Lunda:
As Malawi celebrates 59 years of political independence from British rule, political analysts, economists, citizens and consumer rights advocates have expressed hope that political and socio-economic challenges prevailing in the country can be addressed.
They say learning from the past is key to addressing the problem of poverty and other ills.
Political analyst George Phiri said the country has potential but has remained poor because politicians have been failing to deliver.
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He, however, faulted Malawians for tolerating mediocrity among the political leadership over the years.
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“Malawians have been too nice with the political leadership to the extent that they have even allowed failed leaders to continue governing them, despite the writings on the wall being clear that such leaders have failed. Such time wastage by the failed leaders is what has left Malawi in this condition, where it continues begging— some 59 years after independence.
“If you look at Malawi at independence, there were countries which were worse off than us but they have overtaken us and, today, they rank among the rich countries of the world because their leaders have given the countries 100 percent. Unfortunately for Malawi, we have loved leaders who have not loved the country. In the end, we have paid the price,” Phiri said.
Political analyst Victor Chipofya is of the view that the country deserves to celebrate independence despite facing challenges.
“This is the right time to reflect on opportunities and challenges while, at the same time, applying austerity measures to ensure that everyone benefits from the development cake,” Chipofya said.
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Economics Association of Malawi Executive Director Frank Chikuta said Malawi’s economy has remained weak over the 59 years due to failure by the country to do what is right.
He said, over the years, Malawi has built a reputation of being good at crafting development plans but very poor in implementing them.
This, Chikuta said, has seen other countries coming to Malawi and borrowing its strategies to achieve accelerated economic growth.
“Moving forward, we need to start implementing what we have planned without fail,” Chikuta said.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition Chairperson Gift Trapence said it is unfortunate that Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
“Why do we remain one of the poorest countries in the world and how can we ensure that the country is progressing like other countries in the region and globally? We must reflect on these,” Trapence said.
He further asked leaders to move from rhetoric to action.
Consumers Association of Malawi Executive Director John Kapito said Malawi’s quest for economic independence is threatened by poor leadership, corruption and nepotistic behaviour, which have culminated in the country losing direction.
He said Malawi started its journey to turn its political independence into economic independence with good policies and strategies.
According to Kapito, during the country’s first 20 years of independence, Malawians witnessed a new economic boom with economic benefits enjoyed by the people.
He said the journey to prosperity was witnessed in every sector of the economy, be it agriculture, manufacturing and the provision of social services such as health and education.
Kapito further said the collapse of the global multilateral economic order brought in challenges to the emerging economy.
He added that the coming in of multiparty democracy saw the ushering in of party politics with little understanding of its impacts to an emerging economy, which led to poor choice of leaders— who ushered in divisiveness among people based on party lines.
“Corruption became the new economic pillar that continues to drain resources for the benefit of a few people. Now corruption has spread to all sectors of the economy, which has now thrown Malawi back as one of the poorest countries of the world,” Kapito said.
In Mzuzu City, people we talked to bemoaned the wide gap in salaries, saying most workers get peanuts.
One of the people, Gamphani Wilson Mhango, said he gets K25,000 per month, despite the minimum wage being at K50,000.
“I am yet to benefit from independence,” he said.
Coincidentally, as President Lazarus Chakwera led Malawians in prayers for he nation in Lilongwe, some people who work in shops owned by foreign nationals in Mzuzu City marched to the District Commissioner’s office, where they lamented pay they get and called on policymakers to fight for decent pay.
In Zomba City, there was no indication that people were preparing for independence.
To begin with, there were no decorations, including national flags, along the main road in the old capital, with citizens saying there has been no positive change since independence.
One of the residents, Phillip Chilima from 3 Miles, said there is nothing to celebrate about because Malawi remains poor.
“Our leaders prioritise their business and families, leaving the rest of us in the cold,” he said.
However, Rosemary Chiwaula expressed optimism that things will change, now that Malawi is 59 years old.
“Things will get better one day. We cannot be poor forever,” she said.
Last week, Local Government Minister Richard Chimwendo Banda, who is also the chairperson for the organising committee of the celebrations, told reporters that the government would spend K320 million on the 59th Independence Day celebrations, which are being held under the theme ‘Celebrating Renewed Unity and Patriotism’.
“The government has this year decided to accord Malawians a befitting commemoration and celebration of our independence after observing the celebrations in the past two years through national services of worship.
“You may recall that we could not have our usual and traditional commemorative events mainly due to the Covid pandemic in 2021 and, in 2022, the low-key commemoration was mainly because of the economic situation the country was going through,” Chimwendo Banda said.
Meanwhile, President Lazarus Chakwera has pardoned 2,298 prisoners as part of the 2023 independence celebrations.
According to a statement signed by Secretary for Homeland Security Oliver Kumbambe, prisoners that have been pardoned have demonstrated good behaviour.
