Season of calmness
Max Priest was on point when he sang ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck’. One of such guys is right here at home and he exudes deep blue in his hue.
During the late Bingu wa Mutharika’s time, this man I am talking about demonstrated the most stinking elements of gluttony when he jumped on all government contracts.
Once upon a time, this universe’s luckiest man got himself into hot soup with a bank which he owed close to K4billion. But as I said, good Max says some guys have all the luck, the government— which always want to make us believe to be perpetually broke, decided to repay the loans for this man together with some attendant bandits.
What beats me is how a government which is failing to pay its civil servants, cannot buy cotton wool in hospitals, has colleges where students learn through the window and is always moving about with begging bowls can be such a spendthrift and blow K6 billion to repay loans for some people who, we all know, have all the money in the world.
I am angry at government’s silly and crooked decision. Look, in May last year, we booted out a government that had its name tainted with the plunder on government’s purse otherwise known as Cashgate. I earlier thought that we were done with that band of thieves but, I am beginning to fear, we might have just replaced crooked with shysters. I will talk about this later because today I am mellow as such, I receive all gruff thoughts.
I have noticed with glee lately that we are having some rare moment of national tranquillity. It seems the culture of political noise is slowly dying in this country.
I read in the paper yesterday, when the leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera tore into President Peter Mutharika’s speech in the August house when he opened budget meeting of Parliament.
Of course the “babysitter” remark from the former man of the collar got me off-balance, not for the bad reason but because I found it quite side-splitting.
It is very true that the President spent too much time waxing lyrical about his government instead of laying out clear plans of how he wants to steer the country out of the mire of poverty and create a semblance of hope for national prosperity.
But trust me, eventually Peter’s glaring mistakes, whether in the speech or from his actions, would never be highlighted like his predecessors were because the guy, if we are to be honest, has managed to desist from insulting Malawians.
Here is what I mean. Since taking over residence at state house, Peter has not been as confrontational as his predecessors. He seems to have brought some decency and decorous to the presidency as well as in his blue team of the DPP.
Look, even some DPP stalwarts who made a bad name for themselves because of their verbal diarrhoea like Patricia Kaliati all of a sudden seem to know when to open their mouths.
These days, it seems like those brutal cadets who used to blandish machetes in full view of the police right in the centre of town have gone into a trance. Of course you will still see one or two savages here and there but the majority have been put tethered.
And then having a Vice President who is busy helping running the government— unlike in the past when former veep Khumbo Kachali was helping ex-president Joyce Banda running around the country and insulting us— people can hope for five years of relative peace.
This other day, when Francis Kasaila was asked to comment on some story in which some suspended DPP cadet were trying to box their party through the media, he bluntly said he could not talk about the cadets since doing so would bring him down to the level of these cadets. I was impressed. Look here, if you were around when Kaliati was speaking for the government and Hetherwick Ntaba for the demised president, Bingu wa Mutharika you will agree that the duo did a terrible job. Ntaba, a master of the Queen’s language, failed to use his eloquence and calmness to massage people’s flaring tempers while Kaliati only managed to infuriate people.
I said the other week that people’s anger can remain contained until you decide to insult them.
Atupele Muluzi, despite being swallowed into the DPP fold and practically sold his party to the DPP, has always been a good example of political decency. He certainly wouldn’t have been another noisy bumblebee even if he were in the opposition proper.
Then with Lazarus Chakwera—a man with a pastoral background—in the opposition we haven’t heard mush of senseless opposition like it were in the past.
So because Peter has managed to tame his wolves in the DPP and refused to participate in political savagely coupled with having a venerable leader of opposition as well as a decorous deputy I must confess that we are assured of less noise and public discontentment.
For once I am enjoying this season of calmness.
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