Some Development Issues and Debates

The Republic of Malawi held its fourth Presidential and Parliamentary elections on the 19th of May, 2009 under the supervision of the Malawi electoral Commission (MEC) chaired by Mrs Anastasia Msosa. This election was of its own kind not only in the manner in which it was conducted (which was characterised by drama as one major presidential contestant-Muluzi got barred from contesting), but also the campaign process, themes and tools as well as the outcome, were by and large quite fascinating. Indeed for those who were found in the middle of their studies, the fun that accompanied this election surely robbed them of their good chunk of precious time. I still vividly remember the despair in the voice of a friend of mine, a student in China, who almost failed to submit his essay on time as he had spent most of his time, listening to Zodiak online radio, to try to acquire a picture of what was going to ensue on the voting day in Malawi. The good news is that he passed, and his party won L...

Once again congratulations our President (Bingu wa Mutharika aka Chitsulo Cha Njanji ) for the smart and decisive wins over the combined force of the opposition. The people of Malawi have spoken and, so loudly. They want a man with a vision and a government that is prudent, benevolent and pro-poor. I wish you all the best and God’s blessings as you now start spending the garnered political capital for the good of Malawi. You can now be confident that you are the man of the people, by the people and for the people. You have my thumbs up throughout your term and I am confident that given the support that you will surely enjoy, your demonstrated determination, strong will and God’s blessings, we should be at a different level in five years. I should also congratulate all the MPs who have made it for the job well done, and again all the others who have not made it on this occasion, for accepting the results. Of course I should also congratulate the Malawi Electoral Commission and other st...

Looking at the performance of Dr Bingu wa Mutharika across the nation in the foregoing elections, it is clear that he is once again a national president and hence a blessing to all of us. He has scored well all the way from the North, Centre and the Southern region. This is very impressive and there is one important message being pushed forward. Malawi is no longer as tribalist as people thought or at least we are now advancing appreciably fast towards that state where credit will often be given where it is due and only a small section of our society will put nepotistic agenda first in their execution of duties. This is good news for us and the future leaders of our nation. Let’s go on, take advantage of this moment, to continue to change the mentality of our siblings starting from our own homesteads. We will surely get there and, while we are at the bottom of the wealth ranking, given another five years of decisive leadership, economic prudence, vision, peace and acumen we should be c...

I do constantly study and question the process of development of nations in light of their social and political fabrics. Development and political economics including law caught my interest long ago when, as a child, my kinsmen and people in our neighbourhood introduced me to the thought that Malawi was relatively poor and under-developed relative to other nations. Frequently, these people bragged and talked about the Republic of South Africa (RSA) as being a marvel of Africa, with advanced infrastructure and social life. As a young boy, not only did I long to get to RSA to see for myself, I boggled my mind with questions whose answers turned out to be more complex every day I advanced to an older boyhood and every time I tried to delve more into my quest for answers. The dominant questions that characterised my childhood were hence of the following kind; why did our country choose to build fewer and unattractive infrastructure? Why did our leaders, mafumu (chiefs) choose to preside ov...

Tivotera o Bingu omwewo!! (We will vote for the same Bingu). That was a resounding statement coming from my fellow constituents deep in the heart of Lilongwe District, juts 3 days before the elections. At that point, as someone interested in politics and the development of our nation, I found it impossible to stop there but had to inquire more. In my inquiry, I wanted to know why these kinsmen and friends of mine thought it was appropriate to vote for the DPP and Bingu into office again. The outcome of my inquiry was amazing as the answers were straightforward. Below were some of the reasons my kinsmen and childhood friends and others put forward for voting o Bingu en masse. Firstly, before Bingu came to power, our village was so vulnerable to hunger and starvation, however Bingu’s arrival on the political scene seems to have repelled those and we are now fine as far as food sufficiency is concerned. Secondly, Bingu’s government is pro-poor in that they have realised what the poor n...