No Weah in Malawi
Poilitics is everyone’s game and the motivation to be a politician varies from one individual to another.
However, what has been the justification over the years is that politicians want to serve the people; this motivates them more than anything else. That is the reason there are a lot of parties formed in the bedroom, such parties are registered and there is nothing the parties can show as their contribution to the development of Malawi.
Entering the political game in the past few years were artists who we believed would bring the change we all desire. The reasoning was simple, these artists already serve the people and their art is a huge testimony.
Talk about Lucius Banda, for instance. His music has been the effective voice for the poor people but I do not believe that he has served people better than his other role as an artist. It is not Lucius’ problem but the structure of politics in Malawi which has its own rules.
I doubt that politicians would bring the change we all desire, it is a complicated game that has seen players changing colours.
Yeah we heard right that Peter Mponda would like to contest in the 2019 elections as member of Parliament. His motivation, as every politician would say, is perhaps to serve the people. If he were to transfer his popularity from the field of play in his playing days to the political arena, he has a guaranteed vote.
But surely, not everyone who filled the stadium to cheer on the on-field leader Mponda was comes from the constituency in which he is going to contest.
The political environment in Malawi does not favour those we believe can do the job, it is a club of crooked few who have a lot in common. I still believe there is no Weah in Malawi, only Liberia has one George Epong Weah.
As it is, Weah is seriously vying for the presidency in Liberia where a delayed run-off vote will take place on Tuesday.
During the initial poll, Weah amassed 39 percent and if it were in Malawi, he was heading to the State House.
Weah’s influence in Liberia is so huge. His effort to unite a country that was divided for several years was his motivation to vie for the presidency.
In his playing days, he became the first non- European to win European soccer’s player of the year award in 1995, the same year he picked up the African and world player of the year awards.
Weah’s strength is that there are a lot of youths in Liberia who feel they haven’t benefitted much from the post-war recovery. Indeed, as most youths across Africa would attest, their participation in politics is not something they can pride themselves in; it’s either you are a cadet here or member of the youth league there.
After his failure to win in 2005, Weah knew he had to learn some politics just like he learnt how to control the ball at the beginning of his career. Weah has served as a senator representing Congress for Democratic Change since 2015.
Remember, he lost in 2005 to Johnson Sirleaf in a presidential election. When he speaks passionately about Liberia, it is obvious that he is determined to serve the Liberians.
This is not a political column but it is only right to pay tribute to Weah for his passion for Liberia. This would help to understand why a former footballer would want to vie for a political position.
Yeah we can take a break from The Mighty Nomads winning the league in Malawi, Arsenal and Liverpool’s basketball game at the Emirates Stadium on Friday and Barcelona’s mauling of Real Madrid at the Santiago El Bernabeu yesterday.
Indeed, as we think of Weah, we should also ask questions whether Mponda’s move to contest is the right decision; his role in the then Surestream Academy was the kind of service Malawians wanted to associate him with because politics in Malawi is a different game altogether with its own rules not the same as those in football that emphasise on fairness.
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