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

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