Peter Mutharika angers Malawians

Malawi government’s plans to privatize all public hospitals as one way of ensuring effective service delivery have angered citizens in the country.

Earlier, Malawi24 reported that President Peter Mutharika plans to privatize public hospitals to deal with some challenges that have rocked the health sector.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Hard Talk’s Zeinab Badawi, Mutharika said his administration will soon start selling public hospitals to the private sector.

“We have no medicines in hospitals. We are trying to bring private sector into hospital management and we hope it will work,” said Mutharika.

Reacting to the development on our Facebook page, Malawians have blamed Mutharika for not considering the poverty level of the country’s citizens.

“Professor Peter Mutharika will make a big mistake to privatize hospitals, when he is sick he has the benefits that he is sent abroad for medication, does he want people to die at native doctors,” wrote Chimodzi Salijeni.

Another Facebook user wrote: “If the President is thinking in that way then he is making a mistake because it is like calling the colonial masters to come back.”

While one commenter thought the country will end up with every service provider being in the hands of the private sector.

“Mmmh Mutharika, Mutharika, Mutharika selling everything, you sold ESCOM now you’re on hospitals what are we going to remain with,” wrote Troy Ngwira.

In their comments, Malawians also urged Mutharika to reverse his plans arguing that the country’s largest population is from the rural areas where people live below the poverty line.