BY ELIJAH MIKE BANDA
Fellow Malawians,
We are in an economic crisis as a country and the government must not only be working but must surely be seen to be working; towards the betterment of us all. They must be seen to be endeavouring inorder to bail us out of this mess without lame excuses. We are a people that deserve peace and joy. The situation keeps getting out of hand day in, day out but this Tonse Alliance led administration keeps exposing its cluelessness to us in everything they do as the journey continues. We are in a crisis that ought to be managed but it is doubtful if we have expertise to achieve anything better under this administration. Very sad and annoying. We are in a serious economic crisis that needs proper management.
It is now an open secret that due to lack of patriotism and practical experience, the Tonse Alliance led administration has overlooked a number of crucial stages in crisis management which include but not limited to;
1. Pre-crisis stage (prodromal phase). This is the first stage of crisis management that occurs before the crisis itself hits.
2. Crisis stage (acute phase). This is the stage where the government ought to have started noticing the first signs of a crisis unfolding.
3. Response stage (chronic phase).
4. Post-crisis stage (resolution phase).
For a proper economic crisis management, there among others needed to be a holistic approach. Aforesaid, this administration has overtly exhibited a sheer lack of practical experience in handling state matters. This administration lacks the expertise and a strategic direction to satisfy our economic needs. We are in a quagmire. We are finished! We are as good as dead!
Politics (ndale) is killing the future of this country. Our political leaders keep trading expertise for fame and political survival which is absurd. We are completely destroying the economy of this country and it will never be easy for us or our children, generations and generations to come, to revive it if the status quo remains.
There are people in this country who should have been of help to the Tonse Alliance led administration in times of serious need as this one. Had it been they were fully utilised, we would not have been where we are now. We list them herein below.
Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima.
Current state vice president of the republic of Malawi and the mighty UTM president. A man with an impeccable track record. Given tasks, he delivers within prescribed time limits. He worked for Lever Brothers Limited, Leasing and Finance Company of Malawi, Southern Bottlers Limited and Airtel Malawi Limited and in all of these companies, he delivered. A fantastic track record is there for you to go and see. He also served as state vice president of the republic of Malawi under professor Arthur Peter Mutharika’s administration where among others, he unbundled the beauraucratic structures within the Malawi public service system under the Public Sector Reforms Programme. He overhauled the Malawi public service system and breathed a new lease of life in it.
The Tonse Alliance administration discarded his expertise soon after taking over power. They should have known better. He should have been tried and tested and we should never have found ourselves in this economic mess now. Take it or leave it, Dr. Chilima has a future in this country’s politics. He should therefore be discarded at peril. Thousands and thousands of people out there know what he is capable of doing. They believe in him. They know he is top notch. No one dents his image anyhow.
Dr. Goodall Gondwe.
Dr. Goodall Edward Gondwe is a Malawian economist who served in the cabinet of Malawi as Minister of Finance from 2014 to 2019. Previously he was Minister of Finance from 2004 to 2009, Minister of Local Government from 2009 to 2010, and Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Affairs from 2011 to 2012.
Dr. Gondwe also served as director of the Africa Division of the International Monetary Fund before returning to Malawi to work as a politician. He served as the Chief Economic Advisor to President Bakili Muluzi.
He was appointed Minister of Finance in June 2004 by President Bingu wa Mutharika. He has been credited for Malawi’s success during Mutharika’s first term. His economic development policies, together with Mutharika, helped drastically improve the economic situation in the country. Under his stewardship, the rate of inflation fell from 30% in 2005 to 6% by 2008. More importantly, Malawi saw its economy grow by approximately 6 percent.
The only reason he has not been consulted by the current administration is because he belongs to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the main opposition political party in the Malawi National Assembly. Regardless, Dr. Joyce Banda at the time of her reign as state president of this country, used his expertise and Malawi enormously benefited. Should the status quo remain, Dr. Joyce Banda’s administration will never go down as the worst administration ever in the history of this country partly due to Dr. Goodall Gondwe’s involvement in it. Someone will claim old age can limit his capacity now. He is the current vice president for the DPP (North) and if age was a factor, he would have retired from active politics by now. Believe you this, we should have somehow utilised Dr. Gondwe’s expertise.
The Tonse Alliance administration must wake up from its deep sleep now and start taking initiatives that will resuscitate our economy or resign. We are in a deep crisis. People are dying of so many economic challenges out there owing to the deep rooted levels of poverty in this country. We are retrogressing now more than ever before.
May the good Lord in heaven have mercy on our souls.
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ‘
