Africa-Press – Malawi. As Malawians are still reeling from the shocks of the recent devaluation of the Kwacha, a lot has been happening. There have been efforts by those in power to try and make us understand what is happening. Most of those explanations are dressed in patronising gowns, and you can easily tell how lowly those who have gone to school regard the rest of us.
This has been a growing trend in Malawi where, when the government fails, some big man will stand up to teach us: to tell us that we are the problem. If you remember very well, there was a time President Lazarus Chakwera came up with a Cabinet that compromised husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and groups of friends.
When he was accused of nepotism, the big man came to the podium to tell us that we did not understand the meaning of merit. He tried to argue that he had selected that cabinet on merit and insulted the intelligence of those who thought otherwise. We looked at him, our mouths open, admiring his glory.
And since then, the Tonse alliance administration has thought it wise to use spin doctors to distort otherwise straight narratives. And when the Kwacha fell some two weeks ago, some economists tried to convince us that this was good news. These learned men are telling us that we have been living a lie and now it was about time we faced reality.
The reality, they say, is that the currency has been dead for a long time and the only way we can recover is to give it its true value in death. Of course, that is true. Our economy has been in shambles for a long time. We all know that the real value of our currency is seen on the black market.
These economists, as wise as they wanted to sound, were not telling us anything new. What they forgot to do, however, was to point a finger at who is to blame for all this mess. One of the biggest problems that we have as a nation is that those who are supposed to be answerable do not want to take responsibility.
When we talk about our economy failing, it is as if there is no one who is supposed to make sure that the economy functions. Malawians must remember that we are paying people who are supposed to be in charge of affairs in this country and when we succeed, we should give them credit in the same way that we must blame them when we fail.
These people drive fancy cars and wear expensive suits. They are led by president Chakwera and we voted them into power in 2020. If the economy is failing today, they are the ones to blame.
When the Tonse alliance was campaigning for power in those years of demonstrations, they convinced us that they had all the solutions to our problems.
As the leader of opposition, the president pointed out all that was wrong with Peter Mutharika’s reign and he assured us that he was going to correct that. We were given prices of fertiliser, water and electricity in projections that were too good to be true.
The future of this country was rosy in speeches coated in borrowed English accents. For all we know, we were not supposed to be here today. The leadership must accept that what they promised us is not what we are getting instead of trying to convince us that our problems are beyond their control. How is it that they are failing to control the situation?
What Malawians need are leaders who have solutions to their problems. Just last week, the Governor of the central bank came to the podium to warn us against demanding pay rises in the face of the devaluation. He said that demanding more money will simply worsen our situation. This is a man who already lives in another world.
Poverty is only a word he reads in books. Well, we may not know anything about economics but what we know is that Malawians are suffering because of the poor economic policies that this government is implementing. To tell this story properly, somebody up there has failed us, and that person must take the blame.
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