When we demanded change in 1993/4, we made a grave mistake of not defining very well the kind of change that we wanted. We were simply too tired of the one-party system of government that anything else was better off.
As a result, the country ended up with Bakili Muluzi who despite being warned by the then Michiru Sun that his character wasn’t “presidential”, we blindly shouted; “Wakuba yemweyo!” We paid a heavy price and the country is still paying a price for being blind followers.
2020 is totally different. We have a very active citizenry that will not give a blank cheque to its leaders. When in 2019 they marched for almost ten months in the streets, demanding justice to their “stolen votes”, they did it for themselves, not for the leaders just to be in power. Our democracy is maturing and people are looking for results.
When the Tonse Alliance leaders went round scouting for people’s votes, they made clear promises: “We will be your servants and you will be our bosses, we will fight corruption, we will deal away with nepotism” and all the other promises; People were actively listening and they cast their vote with their eyes wide-open.
THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD…
This is no longer campaign time but action time. It is very encouraging that the citizens are not sleeping on the job. This is why we have seen a lot of reaction to the cabinet appointments.
The employers (the voters) are keen to see that the employees (President and Vice President), are indeed performing according to their promises.
Malawians will no longer be taken for a ride, thanks to the Tonse Alliance leaders who constantly reminded us that “ife, ovota, ndiye ma bwana”.
The bwanas will always demand accountability and answers where ever they feel they need to. This is a great win for our democracy and a win for our people.
It is critical that as citizens, we remain vigilant throughout the entire five-year term in which our “employees” are under contract to deliver on the promises they made to us during the campaign period.
Empty promises wont do anymore – this is not 1994 when a leader would promise shoes. The current voter will not blindly shout “wakuba yemweyo!”
We have a citizenry that when you promise them “Malawi wa Tonse, okomela tonse” they want to see just that.
We have an active citizenry that is looking for “Tsogolo Lowala” and not more of the same that they disliked in the previous administrations.
I am very proud to see that finally, Malawi is maturing democratically, and the voters will not obligate their oversight responsibility.
Let us remain vigilant and maintain our activism for a Better Malawi. It is good and important for those we have entrusted with the responsibility to govern. It is OUR country and OUR future.
Signed,
Henry Kachaje10th July 2020
This article is not worth the release, possibly it is a week plus late. Who hasn’t seen the crap the praise singer is talking about concerning his homeboys? Madeya timanena aja nde amenewa. Can’t you see that things have already been messed-up just within 3 weeks? If you are trying to reposition yourself, then don’t do it here, mainly now when every sane person can see the crookedness of your brothers. The Muluzi you are referring to did a much commendable job unlike your clowns. This is crude and unheard of in this century. Mind you, those BBC people did it deliberately to request an interview with him, just to gauge for themselves the stupidityof Malawians when it comes to choosing leaders. From the word go he blundered all the way to the end. He exposed himself that he knows fuck-all. How can you say, “I seem to know, I seem to remember” – not very confident responses. When the reporter indicated that he had come to the end of the interview, one could see the ‘Crocodile Smile’ Chakwera exuded. Very shameful.