Peter Mutharika’s 1year a mixed bag—CCJP
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) has described the just-ended year under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as one that “has left a lot to be desired because it was a mixed bag”.
CCJP says since he took over government, President Peter Mutharika has tried to stick to some of the promises he made during his campaign some of which include a lean Cabinet of 20 members.
In an interview with The Daily Times Monday, CCJP National Secretary Chris Chisoni said in their assessment, a lot has happened since DPP took over.
“It is not easy to trim the Cabinet to such a number because we have seen that former presidents could focus on political things like who to please after being in government and in the end a Cabinet could have as many as 52 ministers,” said Chisoni.
He added: “The President has also tried on trimming down on unnecessary trips because many are the times we have seen him delegating responsible ministers to undertake certain activities. On this area, he has done well.”
Chisoni was, however, quick to say the way government has responded to some issues such as the natural disasters and attacks on people living with albinism was not that impressive, saying government should have taken a major leading role.
“The floods that hit the country late last year and early this year showed how government struggled in terms of responding to the disaster quickly.
“According to the budget presentation, it appears a huge amount of money has been allocated to the recovery plan of the disasters. This is also a setback because this money could have been used for something else such as hospitals and improving education standards in the country,” said Chisoni.
Meanwhile, opposition parties in the country have faulted the DPP government for failing to perform according to people’s expectations during the one year it has been in office.
“Major indicators are how people are suffering in the country. Corruption levels are very high and a lot of Malawians are struggling even to have food in their homes. They are even failing to create job opportunities for people,” said Kabwila MCP’s spokesperson.
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