The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has challenged the Tonse government to come out clear on when it will start implementing the deferred campaign promises such as the pension for the elderly and universal fertilizer subsidy programme.
In the run-up to the Fresh Presidential Election (FPE) on June 23, 2020, the then Tonse Alliance torchbearer, now State President Lazarus Chakwera and his then running mate, now State Vice President, made a litany of salivating promises that endeared them to the poor Malawians.
Some of the notable promises included the universal fertilizer subsidy programme, which has now been christened as the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP), the K15, 000 monthly stipends to the elderly people aged 65 and above; the reduction of passport charges from the current K90, 000 to K14,000; creation of the one million jobs within the first one year and the mega farms that should have significantly contributed to the creation of jobs for the youths and the one week tax holiday.
However, the Tonse administration has not incorporated these pledges in its maiden 2020/21 national budget as presented in the august House by the Minister of Finance, Felix Mlusu, on Friday last week.
The development has surprised keen Malawians who are now questioning the sincerity of the government on the implementation of the promises.
CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa has since challenged President Chakwera to come out clear and explain the Tonse alliance glaring departure from its promises before Malawians could conclude that they deceived the unsuspecting poor voters.
Speaking to journalists in Lilongwe, Namiwa said CDEDI has been prompted to take this stand after noting that it has become a tradition for the Tonse Alliance administration to keep changing, deferring or at worst keeping mum on most of its flagship promises, which were very attractive to the Malawian voters.
While CDEDI is aware that all these promises cannot be achieved in one financial year, our expectation was that Dr. Chakwera would explain in his inaugural State of the Nation Address (SoNA) which was delivered some two weeks ago, how these promises would be achieved within his five year term of office, if at all they were a priority.
It was also our expectation to hear from the President on how the promises he has made will be achieved, by giving a very clear roadmap for the same,” he said.
Namiwa said what is worst is that, just recently, Chakwera, through his Press Secretary Brain Banda, told the nation that the names of the board members for the parastatal organizations would be released in the second week of September yet it has been three months since the boards were dissolved, and the President still can’t keep his word.
“This deplorable conduct can best be perceived as a breeding ground for impunity and executive arrogance. It has reminded Malawians of the unfulfilled senseless promises that were made by some politicians in the past, such as the purchase of a pair of shoes for every Malawian citizen. It can be concluded, therefore, that such promises were made only to win the elections, but not to be fulfilled.
President Chakwera should be reminded that all his Tonse Alliance campaign promises and those of his Vice are on tape, therefore there is no way such promises can just be ignored,” emphasized Namiwa.
He reminded Chakwera that the Republican Constitution is very clear about there the Presidency derives its authority to govern who are the people themselves.
He wondered how the people would trust a President that does not stick to his words. “Someone who promises one thing and ends up doing something completely different from what he promised?
While we are commending Government for walking the talk by operationalizing the much-awaited Access To Information (ATI) legislation, we are challenging Dr. Chakwera and Dr. Chilima to explain to Malawians what necessitated the change of tune to their campaign promises.
Malawians of good will may recall that CDEDI appealed to President Chakwera to cease the opportunity that had arisen through the SoNA to share with the nation a roadmap that should clearly spell out how his Tonse Alliance government intended to implement its consolidated manifesto. It appears the appeal landed on deaf ears if the contents of the SONA are anything to go by.
“The Tonse Alliance government also needs to explain some inconsistencies in the national budget, such as the 16.5 VAT on essential commodities such as cooking oil, when the same administration expects Malawians to afford three meals a day. Failure to explain to the taxpayers and voters on the matters raised above will leave CDEDI and indeed patriotic citizens of this country with no choice but to brand the current government as a team of liars who cannot be trusted. It can further be construed that Malawians were duped on that material day on Tuesday, June 23, 2020,” he said.
CDEDI would like to take this opportunity to caution the opposition political parties to get organized and rise to the occasion to provide checks and balances to the Tonse Alliance government which is showing clear signs of deceit and manipulation, when they have been in government for just less than four months!
The dictates of democracy require that there should be the opposition as a government in waiting to keep those in power in check to among many others protect the weak and stop those in power from abusing their authority,” said Namiwa.
