President Lazarus Chakwera has again promised to fulfill the Tonse Alliance’s campaign promises but has argued that the promises cannot be implemented overnight and he cannot provide a specific timeframe.
The Malawi leader made the remarks today in Parliament where he went to respond to questions from Members of Parliament.
Responding to a question on when Malawians should expect the government to fulfil its promises, Chakwera said he will inform Malawians when the government is ready to fulfill the promises.
“I can promise you, these promises will be fulfilled. If you wanted a year and a date and a month, that I cannot give it to you now,” said Chakwera.
Chakwera was elected in the June 20 Elections under the Tonse Alliance which has nine political parties, including Malawi Congress Party (MCP) led by Chakwera and UTM which led by Vice President Saulos Chilima.
In the run-up to the elections, the two made numerous promises including creation of one million jobs in a year, removal of water and electricity connection fees, universal fertilizer subsidy, and reduction of passport fees.
Chakwera said in Parliament today that after assuming power, they have been engaging ministries, departments and agencies on the best approach for implementing the promise while considering macroeconomic conditions of the country.
He added the government also has to take into consideration bad contractual obligations which were enforced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
According to Chakwera, DPP government entered into contracts that were in favour of the contractors and not in favour of Malawians.
“These contractual arrangements and many others are some of those issues that I have mandated the Vice President to look into because this country is being defrauded by its own people in leadership,” said Chakwera.
He also blamed the Coronavirus pandemic for the delay in implementing the promises saying his government has had to adapt to a staggered implementation strategy.
