Govt gets dirty with Chakwera, again

…Don’t be a judge for this country

Government has hit back at leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera arguing that he should not be a judge for the country.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led administration was reacting to Chakwera’s New Year’s message in which he claimed that Malawians have lost confidence in the DPP government following corruption scandals in the year 2016.

Chakwera mentioned the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) maize deal arguing that it has led to high costs of living among citizens as fuel price kept going up due to lack of stabilizing funds.

The upward price adjustment witnessed the cost of commodities going up, as fuel affects Malawi’s computing basket.

But government spokesperson Nicholas Dausi said corruption can only be addressed through collective efforts.

Dausi added that Chakwera must provide “substantial evidence” on corruption and refrain from using the word “suspicious” arguing that one must be “prove guilty beyond reasonable doubt “.

“Is he trying to be a judge himself, a prosecutor himself, a jury himself, an accuser himself…and hope can be applied in various ways which hope is he talking about,” said Dausi.

In his own New Year’s address, President Peter Mutharika also claimed that some critics want to tarnish the image of his government by describing it as the most corrupt in the world.

Mutharika however admitted that there is corruption in his government and warned the perpetrators of such practices that they will face the law.