Malawi 2019 Elections-The battle-line is drawn

Will it be Muthalika  Chakwera or Chilima?

In few months time, Malawi will be having the general election to put in new leaders in the position of power. As we speak our members of parliament have just finished their very last seating of the parliament. At the same time, the nation continues to witness politicians working hard to form alliances ready for the elections. 

So far we have seen the Peoples Party of the former President, Madam Joyce Banda who firstly aligned themselves with the United Transformation Movement days ago now abandoning it and forming an alliance with the Malawi Congress Party of Dr Chakwera. Also the United Transformation Movement (UTM) of Dr Chilima is in working alliance with Enock Chihana's Alliance for Democracy-Aford, the very Party that championed multiparty democracy in Malawi. Romours and indicators shows however that the United Democratic Front the UDF is likely to join the ruling DPP in an alliance and we are yet to see how far this shall go.

Now the question is who are the key political parties and key leaders that Malawian need to choose from? From the data so far we have the ruling Democratic Progressive Party who has the incumbent, Prof Muthalika, the United Transformative Movement has Saulos Chilima while the Malawi Congress Party has the Rev. Chakwera and the UDF has Hon Atupele Muluzi. So the question is who shall win the election come May 2019?

Will there be any development minded leader like the late Prof. Dr Bingu wa Muthalika in Malawi?

By: Dr Qeko

Sometime when I look into the political domain of our nation, I tend to wonder and ask what actually could this nation have been like if the late Prof. Bingu Wamthalika was still alive? Looking around you wonder and get astonished at the way things are and at the myopic approach in terms of how things are administered. It is also a wonder when you see how people and leaders fail to see beyond their nose as they only see and live for today. We have leaders who cant think beyond today and tomorrow which is sad indeed. In the private and the public sector leaders and technocrats who are pulled in the game politically cant think beyond and seem not to know what to do hence the nation is not able to progress in terms of development.

Now if this man the Prof. the second Ngwazi was still alive, a lot could have changed in terms of development. This Bingu was the type of a President who if he took over from Kamuzu Malawi could have been another paradise. See his accomplishment and the type of projects he gave the nation of Malawi. These are tangible projects that will stay and be part of Malawi forever. This is the man who gave the people of Chitipa that road after all other presidents kept of lying to the people in the name of politics. This is the man who blessed the late Dr Banda with a good and nice resting place the mausoleum in city centre in Lilongwe. When Bakili Muluzi and his UDF government kept on lying about this project, Bingu not only came with words but Action to construct such a good resting place for the father and founder of Malawi nation.

This is the man who was not only educated and once held high international positions but he had a great brains that were able to translate visions into real action plan to be fulfilled. Visiting city centre in Lilongwe today you would see a serious city transformation with the following key projects that were all born our of his vision and dream and these include, the new parliament building, the Bingu conference Centre, the only 5 star hotel, the Presidential villas, the new stadium, the State of the art University of Technology in Thyolo. All these project speaks of one thing, that Bingu was a visionary leader who not only cared about the Malawi of today but the Malawi of the future.

Now if Bingu was still alive we could have been having by today the road network could have greatly improved with the dual carriageways from Blantyre to Lilongwe and all the way to the northern corridor. In the vision of the late Prof. Muthalika the dual carriageway was the next agenda for the nation and there was no discussion about this because he was determined to give this nation what we need most in terms of road communication. He said one day that road network is the backbone of any meaningful development. Also with such nice road network for the first time there could have been tollgates all the way through the road which would generate revenue for road maintenance.

His Excellency Prof . Arthur Peter Muthalika is right!

By: Dr Qeko

The statement the State President made days ago during the Chanco golden jubilee fund raising dinner at the popular Bingu International conference centre is true and a fact. On the same, the criticism against the President’s statement by some is unfortunate especially looking into the current status of the University in terms of its rating regionally and globally. In this brief write up, I am categorically supporting the noting raised by the State President that its about time that Malawian academia must focus on research and not just making unnecessary noise in the corridors of university campuses. This is not for the University of Malawi alone but also the rest of the higher institution of learning.

The whole reason as to why the president might have delivered that type of speech to push  Universities in Malawi to focus on research could be that the President might have seen that  Universities in Malawi are not appearing on the newly released Webometrics list of the best 100  Universities in African. Hearing the President’s voice one could see that His Excellency was concern with the whole saga of his universities missing on the list of the best 100 Universities in Africa. Such news might have affected him and he wished there was a way how one day Universities in Malawi could appear on the list of the best universities in Africa. The irony has been that those institutions of learning we feel are the best locally seem to be the poorest regionally.

One troubling thing has been that Malawi’s Universities led by the mother University have been the worse institutions  as compared to the University of Botswana (on position 46), Zimbabwe (on position 40), Kenyatta University (on position 38), University of Daresalam (on position 37), University of Zambia ( on position 32), University of Namibia (on position 24), Makelere (on position 13), University of Nairobi (on position 7) and the 10 South African  ten Universities which tops the list. The fact that for years Malawian Universities could not even be among the best 100 yearly remains a great irony in Malawi’s education. Why must the nations University not be part of the just 20, and not even 30, 40, 50,60, 70, 80, 90, and even best 100 Universities in Africa?

Having said this however, one thing must be observed that although the President made such a noble statement, there is a role that government must play to initiate and promote the process of research in the country. The President’s statement must translates into an action by government to begin playing a role in funding research activities and creating more incentives for research scholars so that they do more in terms of research as is the case in other countries. There must be a budget that would support research every year and a system would be put together to administer such research activities. Malawians scholars only develop themselves when they cross the boarders because other nations have put in place mechanism to help scholar stand between the nation and development. in any kind of development research basically become part of it so at to establish the realistic of such action. Unless the President statement goes beyond words, Universities in Malawi will continue ranking behind in world and regional ranking which naturally bring shame to the entire nation and which at the same time questions the kind of leadership and education a nation has.

National Research Fund a must for Malawi’s social, political and economic development

By: Dr Qeko

Research has proved to be the main engine to the development of any nation. Nations that are currently at the top of development have achieved such because of their investment in research. Nations like the United States, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, France and many other developing nations have managed to upgrade themselves because of their massive investment in research. In this brief article, the researcher is advocating the notion that its about time that Malawi must have the National Research Fund which would be the body to coordinate all funding and activities of national research. But before we add more there are some few key points that must be noted.

Firstly is that nations that do not invest in research in the modern times are on their way to economic doom.

Secondly is that Africa is the least developed continent because leaders even though  have been to many western nations, they still got no idea as to how they can put to action what they have seen overseas.

Thirdly is that some African leaders are not able to think outside the box in terms of utilizing research in their operations.

Fourthly is that for as long as African leaders put research aside and not make it part of the development process, the people and nations in Africa shall remain a shame for the rest of the ages to come.

Finally is that Malawi remains the poorest of all nations on earth and this has come about because of the type of leadership who invested little into research and still care less about developing this nation. Before the researcher unpacks the question of instituting the National Research Fund, it is important to briefly look into the research efforts if any done during the different political dispensations in Malawi politics.

Kamuzu the foundation stone

The late Dr Kamuzu Banda and the MCP government laid strong foundation for the development of the nation. Every department in terms of development was laid down and there was great political will from Kamuzu himself whose goal was to see Malawi prosper and become one of the self sustaining nation. That’s from education, health, agriculture and others research was part of the major activities and this is evident in the creation of the many research centres across the country where various kinds of research activities were done. It was during the days of the first Ngwazi that Malawi education system and the economy itself was the at its best and greatly appreciated globally.

Bakili Muluzi the foundation stone breaker

Bakili Muluzi whom many accuse of masterminding the breakdown of all the good development that Kamuzu instituted in the country. The  foundation that the late Dr Kamuzu Banda laid for the 30years of his reign was dismantled during the 10 years of the UDF rule because during that difficult time, there was literally nothing that the leadership did to promote development and research. During that time social, political and economic decisions were made with not tangible basis and with no proper research to guide the thought process and direction. Others have said that during that time its was a chaos and a disaster store to mention the least.The lack of research even in the UDF party led to the many political blunders which were committed which at the end made the entire leadership unpopular.

Ngwazi Prof Muthalika the development minded President

The Ngwazi Prof Bingu wa Muthalika took over the mantle of power from Bakili Muluzi  at a time when Malawians were frustrated of the UDF rule due to its effort in trying to rape the constitution. The coming of the Ngwazi Muthalika brought about some hope due to his passion for development. The one thing about Prof Ngwazi Muthalika was that he took some of the well superb development ideologies and experiences during his long stay abroad into the development line of the country. The face change of the capital city and Blantyre with nice road network shows how passionate the late President was to develop Malawi. If the Ngwazi Prof Muthalika never came, the cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre could still have been in that pathetic and dilapidated state. All achievements was due to his belief in research. In one of his letters to this researcher the late President indicated the value he always has put in research and how he would love to see Malawian upcoming scholars focus more on research.

The Joyce Banda and the disaster story

Joyce Banda became the nation’s state President to fulfill the requirement of nation’s constitution after the sudden demise of the Prof Ngwazi Muthalika. Her reign was what other have called a political accident that happened in Malawi because a lot took place just within the two years of her reign. During this era, no tangible progress took place in terms of physical infrastructural development apart from just bringing back the new stadium to Lilongwe which the late Ngwazi Muthalika took it to his home area. Although research was part of what was said in the political life their political party, in reality nothing of that kind happened. There was no research and no wonder even in their political maneuvering things were tough for them because they lacked a well formulated think tank to generate political victory for their party during the election.

Prof. Arthur Muthalika and that little hope in research

The coming in of Prof. Arthur Muthalika has brought a little hope into the country in terms of research. Its during this rule that the question of investment in research continue to dominate the academia and other institutions that care about this nations. The President himself at the University of Malawi fundraising dinner in the capital lamented that there was a need that Universities do more to promote research so as to put the nation on a map and on a good ranking. All these are indicators that Malawi is getting into an era where finally sanity is getting into the nation that the need for research is slowly being recognized. This political will according to many must be translated into dan action for nation’s research where all levels of people must come to a point where they begin to recognize the fact that its only research which when done and properly funded would help the nation progress. The government would achieve its goals if all what they do are research based and not just coming from peoples’ heads or desktop research. The other government failed to give Malawi hope because all policies and programs they had were merely a creation of people who didn’t even involve research in the process. Others have argued that almost many policies in Malawi do not come out of research but from political pressure hence their success has always been questionable. on the same nations that have succeeded in terms of policy formulation and implementation has achieved all that due to their focus on research and the value they place on such.

The National Research Fund the only hope for Malawi

Having looked into the predicaments that the nation of Malawi is facing, the only hope will come through the creation of the nation’s research fund (NRF) which would be a body to coordinate all questions of research in the country. The fragmented instruments in the country that handles research does little to add value in nation’s development and now wonder all efforts in research in Malawi are never appreciated. The National Research Fund would be the body to provide leadership in terms of financing and promotion of all research in the country in addition to helping government getting more focus in utilizing the research generated in the previous dispensations. What we are advocating is that there has been some research with well articulated findings that have not been taken on board by the state and this has been due to the fact that within the state machinery there are no well articulated individuals who can help to have such brought on board. Now the NRF of Malawi would be that instrument to add that value in the implementation of some research findings within the operational systems of government and the private sector. The functioning of the National Research Fund of Malawi would be through the Act of Parliament so that they get their own independent funding and vote every year to implement in nation’s development

Of the UDF and DPP working relation and the art of destroying political opponents from inside

By: Dr Qeko

The inclusion of a UDF member into Prof Arthur Peter Muthalikas cabinet after winning the 2014 Presidential elections was a surprise and a shock to many who keenly follow the dynamics of Malawi’s politics. The main question that has always been asked is, “ Does DPP need UDF to govern Malawi? What is the meaning of having Atupele in Cabinet when DPP according to some is so much capable of governing Malawi without any hand and any help from UDF or any other party? Does it mean DPP does not have the capacity to govern on their own?

In response to this, let me start by saying that it is true that the inclusion of Atupele in cabinet continue to shock many due to the fact that it was Atupele who spend some time within the JB cabinet and later left the PP government to take care of his UDF party. Now with this, those who support DPP seem to dislike this kind of marriage or arrangement to have a foreigner in cabinet when the party itself has the capacity to govern Malawi on its own.

All evidence are there to show that DPP can govern Malawi without being in any coalition with any party. DPP managed to get enough votes and seats in the house of parliament with which they would comfortably manage to govern. The question being asked is does inclusion of UDF member into DPP cabinet add any value? Many have said that this is just wasting time and does not add any value. Even some key UDF members agree that the best way for Atupele was for him to stay with his people and spend time building the party before the 2019 General elections.

Deep and deadly politics is being played with the inclusion of the UDF in the DPP administration where at the end of this we will see one of these two parties politically suffocating and failing to win the 2019 General election. One of the rules in politics is that the best way to destroy your political opponent is to bring them close to you. So in terms of the UDF and DPP which one has a strategy to destroy the other?

Robert Mugabe dismantled Tshangirai and his MDC party by making them part of government in the Unity Government. It was easy to destroy the MDC and Tshangirai because he was too close and hence on the way to his political deathpoint. So for DPP and UDF it all depends on who will be smarter than the other. Will it be UDF or the DPP?

AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT IN MALAWI A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE NATION

By: Qeko

The news that Malawi will be hosting the African Union Summit in June this year is a positive development in the social political and economic development of our country. We had the COMESA summit and now it’s the African Union which is a very positive development. This is what the nation need if we have to put ourselves on the map. In as much as this is a positive news for the nation, there are some with opposing views where they feel this is not a good decision to have African union summit in the country.

Key to their argument is that the nation is going through some economic difficulties hence the AU Summit should not be held in the country. However this writer feels that such are misplaced arguments with no vivid basis because in everything that will take place in Malawi during the AU Summit, the nation shall benefit in one way or the other. Currently we are complaining of forex shortage and this Summit will pump in a good forex. So economically the nation will benefit and if anything rightful and patriotic citizens of the land need to be at the forefront talking positive about this AU Summit in the country.

Also in terms of putting country on the world man, this AU Summit in Malawi will exactly do that. This will be a quick strategy to let the world know that there is a nation called Malawi since the global media will all focus on what will be taking place in Malawi. Particularly this AU Summit is crucial and all major media houses will be in the country to cover the election of the AU Chief. .

Having said this, it is sad however to hear that some key leaders deliberately decide not to be patriotic about their own country. Now if they can not show and demonstrate their patriotism now when they are not in power then what type of Malawi shall we going to have. Malawi needs leaders who can be positive about their country and not people who talk negative about the nation. So it is expected of all leaders to support good things that are done in a country. We Malawians need to know that God has given us one place called home and this is Malawi and hence we need to be patriotic in season and out of season.

HIS EXCELLENCY THE SUPREME COMMANDER, KIM JONG-UN-NEW LEADER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES’ REPUBLIC OF KOREA (DPRK)

By Qeko

It is finally official that Kim Jong-Un has been appointed the Supreme Commander of the North Korea Military force and the successor to his father Kim Jong-il who died on 17th December of a long illness. Just like his son has done, the late Kim Jong-il over from his Father Kim il-Sung after his death in 1994.The late Kim Jong-il was popularly known in North Korea as the preserver of the Revolution.

North Korea which maintains strong link with China, has just announced that there will not no policy change in the Korean peninsula and that the Kim Jong-Un government will continue with the hard-line stand maintained by the late Kim Jong-il. In addition to being the supreme commander of the Korean armed forces, the younger Kim is soon to assume the following; Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, General Secretary of the North Korean Workers Party and the Chairman of the National Defence Commission.

However the ascension to the throne by Kim Jong-Un is putting to rest speculations regarding the leadership succession in North Korea. Signs of Kim Jong-Un ascension to the hot seat were seen last year when he was named a Four-Star General after which he was appointed the Vice-Chairman of the ruling party’s Central Military Commission by his father Kim Jong-il.
In as much as some have argued that the young Kim is not experienced to take charge of this closed state, some have the young Kim is surrounded by royalist many of whom have close family links with the Kim dynasty and they have the task to make sure that the power transition is peaceful done.

We are yet to see what will this wind blowing in Pyongyang means to the western nations and the entire Korean peninsula. I however congratulate comrade Kim Jong-Un for becoming the next Supreme leaders of the North Korea people and the Workers party.