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Malawi’s chief Lazarus Chakwera.
- Malawi at independence from Britain in 1966, maintained diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa.
- Since independence, there have been six presidents solely falling behind Zambia with seven within the area.
- Confronted with corruption and report inflation, there can be no public celebrations as a cost-cutting measure.
In 1966, Malawi gained independence from Britain with then-president Hastings Kamuzu Banda, a traditionally divisive determine, being the one African chief having full diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa.
Banda was voted out of workplace in 1994 having run down the nation to make it one of many poorest on the continent.
Since Banda, there have been the late Bakili Muluzi, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, Joyce Banda, Arthur Peter Mutharika, and now Lazarus Chakwera.
Solely Zambia, with seven, has had extra presidents than Malawi, a rustic seen as a mannequin instance of the transition of energy within the Southern African Improvement Neighborhood.
To mark 58 years of independence, Chakwera mentioned “at 58 it is an opportunity for us to construct ourselves and subsequent generations a self-reliant and inclusively rich Malawi”.
Nonetheless, political analyst Makhumbo Munthali, who’s the secretary-general of the Malawi Political Science Affiliation, mentioned the change of leaders had not introduced a lot pleasure to Malawi.
He added:
With a number of false begins since independence which promised Canaan, Malawi has suffered from a management deficit, with these coming to governing beneath transactional management – enterprise as regular – as an alternative of the much-touted transformational management.
Underneath Chakwera, the identical issues confronted by earlier presidents are nonetheless there, if no more.
Munthali mentioned he believed following the identical trajectory, the nation was headed for worse.
“Whereas the current is appalling and the longer term bleak, the onus is on Malawians to outline their very own future by taking proactive steps to push for a transformational socio-economic agenda. This requires strengthening social accountability mechanisms from the grassroots degree with a view to hold these in management accountable,” he added.
One other political analyst, James Phiri, mentioned the 58 years of independence have been punctuated by corruption from the ruling elite who don’t have any intention to enhance the nation.
“The varied guarantees of transformational management that will ship the much-needed socio-economic improvement within the medium and long run have been hijacked by slender, vested political pursuits of the ruling elites and their enterprise associates on the expense of public curiosity.”
He added:
Whereas Malawi’s democracy has registered some good points equivalent to an impartial judiciary, constitutional our bodies and peaceable elections, the prevalence of corruption, vestiges of nepotism, patronage, and the worsening financial circumstances clearly attest to the truth that we aren’t the place those that fought for independence desired us to be.
In keeping with the Johns Hopkins College economics indicator, Malawi had the third-highest inflation charge in Africa behind Zimbabwe and Ghana.
The Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF), in its newest evaluate of Malawi, mentioned the nation’s debt had change into unsustainable because of exterior and monetary deficits with business banks being the very best holders of the home debt.
This, the IMF mentioned was fore-grounded by “many years of fractured, uneven, and incomplete implementation” of insurance policies.
Joyce Banda (File: AFP)
Because the 2013 “Cashgate” scandal beneath Joyce Banda, the place about R4 billion was misplaced via allegedly fraudulent funds to businessmen for providers that weren’t rendered, improvement companions’ goal financing of presidency providers stays low.
Nonetheless, the comparatively few donor funds coming into the nation are principally directed at well being providers. Final week, the US Company for Worldwide Improvement introduced the launch of the “Let Them Develop Wholesome” undertaking in help of the federal government’s Nationwide Multi-Sector Vitamin Coverage.
It can run for 5 years with a finances of about R736 million.
Independence celebrations
Confronted with inside fights within the Tonse Alliance that helped Chakwera to energy, and the corruption that sucked in senior authorities officers, equivalent to Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima who allegedly obtained kickbacks from Malawian-born British businessman Zuneth Sattar, there’s nothing to toast.
The minister of lands and organiser of earlier celebrations, Sam Kawale, instructed the media there can be no celebrations and that will save the federal government about MK350 million.
He mentioned as an alternative of the normal stadium fanfare, prayers can be held on the Bingu worldwide sq. centre.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Basis. The tales produced via the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements which may be contained herein don’t mirror these of the Hanns Seidel Basis.
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