Africa-Press – South-Africa. Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has been accused of corruption and a failing government system that has resulted in the masses, “… languishing in abject poverty”.
This was contained in the annual Pastoral Letter by eight Catholic bishops who form the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM).
“The present environment, in which the people of Malawi live can be described as very dehumanising,” the bishops said.
The bishops added Malawians were, “… languishing in abject poverty while wealth and luxury are enjoyed by a few who are unconcerned about these dehumanising conditions of the majority”.
The letter comes amid growing discontent in Malawi’s urban centres. On Friday last week, there were demonstrations in Lilongwe by a group called Citizens Against Impunity and Corruption.
Some of its key leaders are social media influencer Joshua Chisa Mbele and political actor Kenneth Msonda who claimed to be marching against state capture.
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President Chakwera came into power in 2020 through a re-run ordered by the High Court, thereby beating Arthur Peter Mutharika.
His victory was largely credited to the Tonse Alliance, a grouping of nine political parties. Just a year into office the ECM joined growing voices calling out the alliance for its “lost direction” because it lacked decisive leadership.
This time around ECM in its letter said the Tonse Alliance was engulfed in internal squabbles that are affecting public servanthood.
The ECM said:
Lately, across Africa, coalitions have been central in dismantling regimes. In the case of Malawi, the ECM feels no single political party will in the near future take control of government as such, and laws should be put in place on how coalition governments should work.
“In the future, it is unlikely to have a government that will comprise one political party only. Electoral alliances are likely to become the order of the day and so too are coalition governments.
“We note, however, the country lacks a legal framework for coalition governments. We, therefore, call upon parliament to put in place a legal framework for coalition governments,” said the ECM.
The attack on President Chakwera comes a week after a United Kingdom based publisher African Leadership Magazine named Chakwera as its African Leadership Person of the Year.
Appearing before parliament on 16 February in a question and answer session, Chakwera said his government was on track to deliver its election promises such as job creation and fighting corruption.
However, he has failed to respond to his critics outside parliament.
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