The President must rise above petty politics

Tom Sangala July 24, 2017

330 1 minute read

President Peter Mutharika and Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) second-coming was thought to be a beacon of hope for the oppressed and marginalised people.

Mutharika was handed an opportunity to prove himself either a prodigious success or an ignominious failure at running the affairs of the country and glow in his glorious success or wallow in the ignominy of failure.

Certainly, Mutharika and his DPP have failed to not only find their leadership ‘sweet pot’ but raise their leadership tent whose canvas represents all of the possible competencies a leader might display, including diplomacy.

Mutharika and DPP have fast forgotten their pretence to govern and become who they were under Bingu wa Mutharika and, of course, who they in truth are – skillfully arrogant.

In many respects, they are even worse than their predecessors.

Many people have said the current DPP’s methods of governance as well as development are a reflection of lack of ethical leadership and integrity.

The DPP’s leadership is predatory and erodes the country’s central public administration, which ends up being used for its own aggrandisement.

Observers have noticed that in order to strengthen and ensure that their leadership is secure; and also to hide their misdeeds, it is common for predatory leaders to surround themselves with tribesmen or praise-singers— an accusation trained on DPP leadership.

But Mutharika in his wisdom decided to hit back at such critics, calling them zitsiru [stupid].

Yes, democracy provides for freedom of speech which the President is entitled to but not in an uncivil manner as such, especially by the Number One Citizen.

At a time the country is failing to provide adequate health, education, security, water, electricity and other public services to its people, the President and some Malawians have time for petty issues.

So, Mutharika only has to rise above politics of patronage as well as nepotistic tendencies responsible for the over-hiring of ‘experts’ in praise-singing and not in technical capability that has contributed to the country’s political and economic mess as well as channelling of money from the public purse to few individuals with no relevance to the common good.

That is what Malawians want.