Africa-Press – Malawi. The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has threatened to hold mass demonstrations on December 7 if the government fails to address fuel scarcity and other economic challenges rocking Malawi.
HRDC Chairperson Gift Trapence said this in Lilongwe Tuesday during a media briefing titled ‘Enough is enough’. According to Trapence, HRDC has observed with concern the deterioration of livelihoods of Malawians, most of whom are poor.
“This is in contrast to the promise of a better Malawi that was sold to the electorate [ahead of] the fresh presidential election of 2020 which put President Lazarus Chakwera and his Tonse Alliance in power,” Trapence said.
He added that although Malawians noticed and acknowledged the shortfalls of the Tonse Alliance administration over the last two years, they believed that the government needed time to work on what needed to be achieved to move this country forward but that the government has taken that goodwill for granted.
HRDC Vice Chairperson, Michael Kaiyatsa, said the human rights organisation has given so much time to government to turn things around but that lives of Malawians have deteriorated under the current administration.
“We are giving Chakwera 21 days to dissolve his Cabinet and bring on board competent people,” Kaiyatsa said.
HRDC has also demanded that National Oil Company of Malawi acting Chief Executive Officer Hellen Buluma be fired and that all those involved in the Affordable Inputs Programme mess and the missing of 13 trucks of maize belonging to the National Food Reserve Agency be arrested and face the law.
Responding to the demands by HRDC, government spokesperson Gospel Kazako maintained that the current administration is trying its best to address challenges Malawians are facing.
“We are already in action. Most of the issues they have mentioned in their statement are issues that President Chakwera has already included in his action plan.
“We will continue applying our focus on making progress. It is a very difficult time that we are all passing through as a nation,” Kazako said.
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