ABOUT THE BINGU/ NGO LEADER’S PLANNED CONSUMMATION OF BLOOD COVENANT

The Leaders of the Civil Society in Malawi.

President Bingu wa Munthalika and the so called Civil Society leaders must be living in their own cloud cuckoo land. After the July 20, 2011 blood-spattered demonstrations Bingu went on air and offered to meet with committees comprising of leaders of the NGOs. This time round, the leaders ere back in the media and they are telling us that they have welcomed the offer and are ready to meet him on condition that the meetings are not held at the State House.

Their agreement to meet symbolizes that now that the Civil Society leaders have sacrificed a few innocent souls Bingu in now ready to enter into a covenant with them. This is how things used to happen in the old days. In order for the gods to listen to the people or to feel pity for the people, people used to offer some kind of blood sacrifice to the gods so they would listen to them, thereby entering into a covenant with each other.

Just imagine, as they are agreeing to do this, the blood in the streets is not dry yet. A parent in one place is still straggling to adjust to a life without a child and a child in another place is still trying to come to terms with a life without a parent. There are ashes in the streets and people’s neighborhoods. People in hospitals and some homes are running around trying to ease the pain and save lives of injured loved ones. All this happened because of Bingu’s inanity leadership and the Civil Society leaders’ heartlessness and folly. And here they are without shame neglecting the blood agreeing to meet to discuss fuel and fair treatment for Joyce Banda.

If we come to think of it, before the demonstrations, a lecturer was offered at which the issues in the petition were addressed. What any other thing that is new other than that which was in the lecture are the civil society leaders expecting to hear from Bingu? Why did they have to offer the blood of Malawians in order to draw Bingu’s attention to the problems they have or to have him meet them on their terms? Since by organizing the public lecture he seem to have had heard them.

How about we say Bingu and these leaders should go on ahead and meet and instead of wasting time with issues that are clearly wasting everybody’s time they should answer the question: how much is the life of a Malawian worth? Given a blank check what figure would they put on that for the blood of a 19 year old in Ndirande?

As for the other things the civil society leaders can just go on ahead and organize more demonstration that will see off more Malawians to the land up yonder. Since that is their way of making it happen. All the government can do is tell them to have only their members participate since they are membership based.

 As for those that agree with Bingu on how to solve the national problems as per the lecture, they can also start working on ways to make sure things happen based on the outcomes of the lecture.

If it is a meeting, Bingu can have with the opposition parties. By the way, when did we in Malawi appoint NGOs to represent us? Under whose mandate are they carrying this load? What has happened to the system whereby the people were represented by members of parliament and NGO’s were lobbying on behalf of the people? Another article on the opposition in Malawi is in the offing, check this space to see how doomed we are in them looking how they have reacted to the needless spillage of blood in Malawi that happened on July 20, 2011.

The time let as conclude this by saying that Bingu might have good development idea but on leadership he has become all talk and no trousers. And indeed people have gotten into his trousers for real to do what they want. Whatever he does, even if it is to please them cannot work, instead it will just yield more criticism. That is the reason his job depends on the trust people have on their leaders and the leaders working on principle and conscience. As a leader, as long as you are working within the law with the support of your party and your conscience is clear, it is alright. The framers of the constitution of Malawi also knew all that when they gave the office the powers and the immunity to go with it. As a leader, which is better, for him to die or go through suffering knowing he has done what is right or have your people be killed needlessly like we have witnessed on July 20, 2011.

Bingu is allowing useless thing to destruct and detract him. If he was clever enough he should have asked himself the question that with the amount of criticism that he is getting and the angles they are coming from, what is it that he can do that cannot draw criticism from them? Yes there are genuine problems in Malawi that has to be sorted out by his office but the problem most people have with him is that he is the president and not them. The only way to solve it is that they become the president themselves failing which whatever he is going to do is bad. Ralph Kasambala is monitoring every move he makes and presenting it as a negative on his status. What would you expect? Why can’t Bingu just shut up or put up instead of wasting time with them.

Now on a very serious note, Bingu and the Civil Society leaders might choose to take things lightly after these people have died but for some of us the needless blood and ashes in the streets of Malawi has changed the dynamics of things in the country. If those people died that easy, unless something is done, we are afraid that it can happen to us as well. We are worried about our own safety and security and would like the government to be a bit more serious and seriously assure us of our security.  

JOYCE BANDA: THANKS BUT NO THANKS

By many means, Joyce Banda is an icon in Malawi. She has a lot in her and to her name that makes her stand out. However, contrary to that and what is arguably a popular view, Joyce Banda in not what Malawi needs for a president right now or in the future. She is way too nice for the job, and she is not as gifted nor is she qualified enough to take Malawi into the next chapter of its independent life.

Malawi like most other developing countries in the world has reached a very crucial juncture of its sovereignty. It is a make or break time for the country. The last thing that we want to do as a country is to experiment with leaders. We also do not want to use the presidency as a gender promotional commercial or worse still as others are saying, as a recompense for the alleged suffering Joyce Banda has gone through.

It is very important for us to understand and differentiate between Joyce Banda as a person together with her achievements and Joyce Banda as she would be if she were to become the president of Malawi.

There are so many positive things about Joyce Banda that makes her an ideal Malawian woman that any Malawian would want to show off to the world. She is blessed with that imposing beautiful stature through and through of which she compliments very well with her special traditional dressing style. Also her humility, her etiquette, her love for children and hard work makes us all be proud to be Malawians with such as her as our mothers.

Looking at that pleasant personality aura Joyce Banda oozes, it becomes very difficult to understand how someone could be cruel to her as she says of her ex-husband. Most men would actually kill to have her as wife and mother of their children.

In those same lines though, before we tackle the presidency issue, it does not mean Joyce Banda is an angel. She is human and there are certain unpleasant things about her. Issues like women complaining that she is one who does not support fellow women. Instead of using her privileged position to pull them up it is said that JB always is in the forefront of pulling them down. Adding on to that, think of her treacherous political activities that led to her ouster from DPP; also her involvement in the corruption scandal that saw maize meant to cover Malawians in time of need being sold abroad. A lot of people who should not have died ended up dying of hunger in Malawi during that time.

If all the other attributes that we are looking for in the next president were present in Joyce Banda, all those flaws though some of them very serious could be ignored because it is impossible in this world to find a perfect person. However this time what we are looking for is not a perfect human being, what we are looking for is a perfect presidential candidate and sadly Joyce Banda is not and cannot be that person. The problem with her in as far as that is concerned is not her problem; it just happens that she is predestined not to be the president of Malawi.

Even if we pray, go without food or whatever else people do to try and alter the misfortunes of life, Joyce Banda can never be that presidential puzzle peace that we are looking for in Malawi. She does not have the intellect, the charisma, the knowledge, the exposure or the people skills needed for that job. Also, as of late, the way she has allowed her integrity to get some kicking makes people wonder if she is really serious about the moral values that she professes to uphold.

Her intellectual limitations could best be understood by her poor sense of judgment and could best be explained by using Sarah Palin and Jeward as an examples.

Looking at what we know about people like Brown Mpinganjira and the other UDF mercenaries she has given key positions her new party it makes one wonder if she really understands what Malawians are weary about in their politicians. The worst scenario to that thought is that it is actually not her making decisions, if anything she is making her decisions under some sort of psychological duress. Her decisions are only as a result of the pressures of the moment and are but limited to the given dynamics within the PP as formed for her. She is made to believe that she is in control and yet in actual sense she is not. She is an unknowing robot doing as manipulated by circumstances and powerful and intimidating characters like Brown Mpinganjira.

  

With her having that low intellectual capacity the danger is that Mpinganjira or any other strong figure within the party could become a proxy president. The strong personalities under her can also start fighting each other and having us ending up with a government of conflicts.

The other thing about her that makes us question how she reasons is the idea of her remaining as VP and still takes up a key position in another party. That is wrong from both legal and moral point of view. Her thinking is that the constitution does not tell the president where to pick a vise president; he can pick him or her from anywhere or any party. That is callow thinking through and through.

This is multiparty politics about which we are talking. We have the ruling and the opposition. Unless we had a coalition government between the DPP and the PP that understanding of things defeats the whole constitutional embodiment of a multiparty democracy.

The constitution gives the VP a job description of which in the technicalities of politics, it is impossible to fulfill if you officially subscribe to a deferent political persuasion from the seating president. You cannot be an assistant to someone whom you don’t agree with and when you officially belong to the opposite bench as a person you are called upon to assist. Unless all Malawians reading into this are insane then you would wonder with that kind of reasoning what kind of mess is Joyce Banda susceptible to take the country into if she were to become a leader.

The other thing is the way she uses God in her political maneuvers, it just shows how careless she can be as a leader. She speaks as though all Malawians are Christians and that they should accept her as the next president because her God has given her to them. I am a Christian myself but I think that is just being insensitive and offensive for nothing. The fact that she cannot distinguish that is more of a judgment problem for her than it is a spiritual problem.

There are so many examples that can be given to show how intellectually deficient Joyce is for the presidency but space and time cannot allow. However of every limitation there is, the worse is the fact that she seem not to know that she has that limitation.

This is where Joyce Banda and her prototype, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska in the USA join hips. For some reason someone told her that she has what it takes to be the president of the United States and she believed them. Now what she is doing is to make a comedy of the whole political landscape in the United States. Like we are patronizing our Joyce in Malawi people patronize Sarah a lot and she is losing it. She is busy making blander after blander and embarrassing people.

On the entertainment scene the equivalent of JB are the two kids that appeared on the UK X-factor program two years ago. They are called Jedward. People supported them for the fun of it and yet they are talentless. They are just crazy and funny and yet don’t have the x-factor when it comes to music. Joyce might not be funny and might also not be imbecilic but surely she does not have the x-factor or the intellect for the presidency.

  

The other thing is that Malawian in most part are downcast right now. They need someone with the charisma and the ability to articulate issues to uplift them and give them hope. Joyce Banda is too melancholic; with her wanting people to be in a sympathy mood towards her there is no way she can uplift their spirits. We need someone with phlegmatic temperament and who is also intelligent to inject some life back into the people.

Another thing that is very important is education; some people might say education is not that important when we are looking for a leader. That is not true and nonsense. Education is very important. The key to Malawi’s sustainable development is in having its citizens educated. An educated leader is a great model for that apart from the fact that most issues that they will have to handle require them to have a substantial knowledge base. Especially things to do with the economy, international relations, international trade, legal matters etc, all that need someone to have a proper and universal grounding in them. You cannot pick a person from the streets and expect them to be a good presidential. We lost ten good years with the uneducated Muluzi. We cannot afford to do that again this time around.

Lastly, as of late Joyce has shown that her integrity is questionable. Her holding on to a key position in the DPP led government raises some serious questions of principle and morality. She is at the moment of no use to the running of government but she is still clinging on to the seat. All she wants is free money and to impede the DPP’s good progress. She is happy to be a thorn in the flesh. If she really is serious about what she claims to stands for, she would have packed all her bags and go the same way she did with her previous marriage. Being principled is a virtue for a leader and to have good moral values is a bonus.

There is more we cannot talk about on this but the bottom line is that Joyce Banda is a wonderful person; however that does not qualify her as a candidate to be the president of Malawi. She is simply not gifted enough nor is she qualified enough. It is better for her to protect her legacy so far rather than try to take up presidency a thing which is obviously impossible for her to manage. Malawians are becoming nasty when criticizing and as a way of protecting her and her good legacy it is important for us to be honest with her and tell her not to bother. Joyce Banda is our mother and we are all proud of her. She has done great things for herself, her family and the country. However being the president is a different ball game. Much as we love her as our mother, for what we know about her we wouldn’t want her to be the one to call the shots in Malawi.

THE NEEDED LEADERSHIP TO SAVE MALAWI FROM UNSAID MOTIVES OF THE JULY 20 DEMONSTRATION.

Despite calls not to demonstrate and compelling indications that things can turn sour during and after the demonstrations earmarked to take place on July 20, the organizers are still adamant to proceed.

They are adamant because, Ralph Kasambala a renowned lawyer in Malawi told them that according to his understanding of the constitution of Malawi any person wanting to demonstrate need not to clear it with the police or any other given authority. He is on record as having said that all that people need to do is to inform the police or the given authority that they intend to demonstrate. It does not matter what the police think about it, they can still demonstrate as demonstrations are their inherent right.

The other reason the people are adamant is that the members of NGOs in Malawi believe that they have a right to do as they please in Malawi because they helped the present government win a case over section 65. They sometimes even have the audacity to give the elected president of Malawi ultimatums to meet their demands.

As for the demonstrations, it is not clear who are the leaders, what the objectives are and the place they will take place.

In the north there are arguments between FOND and Moses Mkandawire as in who should lead. There is also an element of the usual religious leaders from the region who are looking like are in the lead.

There are also calls for the people to wear red symbolizing that the disgruntled UNIMA lecturers could be leading. You have a legion of opposition parties that have come in the vanguard as well. NGO are all bringing out confusing voices randomly. Also there are Malawians in Diaspora on interactive internet sites that could be looked at as the ones leading. It is all not clear.

On this apparent confusion about who is leading the demonstrations, ironically so, most of the blame should go to government. It seems this government is confusing democracy as a system of government and democracy as a style of leadership. On democracy as a system of government, those in leadership have no choice but to have things remain that way. Malawi is a democratic government and it has to be run as such by those in government. However when it comes to democracy as a style leadership, there has to be tact and balance on how one leads otherwise when one is too democratic in the style of leadership the style becomes Laissez Faire or hands-off sort of leadership style. Everyone thinks they can do as they please without any consequences. As we casually say in Malawi, “Napuse napuse ali ndi mwana agwiritse.” One word for that in English is anarchy.

As a result of that we have leaders of the opposition, some within government like Joyce Banda, some DPP MPs, NGOs, diplomats of foreign governments, the media, the courts, university lecturers etc thinking that they  all call the shots in Malawi.

This has created a security situation in country. The Bingu government needs to step up to the plate and arrest the situation before things get worse. There is need to redeem the situation and balance up the leadership style. It is very important that the peace loving Malawians can get the assurance that someone is in control of their country and to assure them of their safety and security.

On the objectives of the demonstrations, the key voices being heard are evasive. They re not clear what they are looking to get from the demonstrations. Among the things people would like to go to the streets for are fuel, forex, academic freedom, the injunction law, press freedom, the reinstatement of Jessie Kapasula Kabwira, gay rights, zero deficit budget, the UDF agenda, the MCP agenda, UK diplomatic relations, Joyce Banda, Federal System of government, quota, Rev Nyondo’s rights, the Lomwe tribe etc.

These issues are issues that Malawians differ about in certain quarters and agree about in other quarters. In that sort of a maze of confusing issues, the first punch is mostly likely to come from within the demonstrators ending up throwing the whole country into hue and cry.

The biggest danger in all that are the tribal undertones within the whole set up. In Malawi, there are political differences and there are real social differences among the people. Political maneuvers more often than not conceal the real social problems of which come out strongly in times of conflicts. For example during Muluzi’s era, though the problems we had could be deemed political, during a time of conflict at one point people in the northern region targeted their anger at the Yao people living among them. Vendors of Yao background were beaten and their vending kiosks were burnt, mosques were burnt and tenants in farms were beaten up. Also during Kamuzu’s time, people of the northern decent were targeted in Blantyre. Also Asians and other people living in areas that are considered to be affluent areas were targeted. No wonder the USA government has given warning to its citizens living in Malawi.

That can of violent express during a time of conflict reveals where it real matters for Malawians. It is not only the political problems as we think that lead people do some unthinkable things during a time of confusion but the deep seated problems among them of which the nature of our politics necessitate that they are less talked about in the country.

On the timing for the demonstrations as well, it is interesting that people are adamant that the demonstrations should still go ahead on the July 20 date and yet there is a public lecture organized on the same day. Some of the things the demonstrations are about are the very same things that the public lecturer is meant to address.

Unless if we are saying that either the demonstrations themselves are the answer we are looking for or we are just interested to see innocent blood being shed, it does not make sense to still insist on staging the demonstrations this time around.

In conclusion, what we can say is that, yes indeed there is a lot Bingu’s government has got to improve on major of which is communication with the public and there is a serious need to consolidate the democracy we have. Bingu’s government needs to take control of things in Malawi and on top of that there is a huge need to keep the people in the know on what is happening. The police should enforce the law without fear or favor. We cannot have a country that is being run by the dictates of NGOs. Most of the NGO leaders are an uneducated bunch of losers with no clue about what they are doing. They do not understand the plight of the people of Malawi apart from that they are always interested in negative statistics of which they use to convince donors to give them money. This is the time for Bingu’s government to be more in control to safeguard the lives of the people and the dignity of the nation. There is no need for blood to be shed in Malawi at this point in time for whatever reason.