President Lazarus Chakwera says Malawians feel that his government has turned the country around and is leading it in the right direction.
He was speaking yesterday when he delivered his State of the Nation (SONA) “Accelerating the Change Malawians Fought For”.
According to Chakwera, his government is leading the country to the direction of a people-centered change.
He added that going into year two of his administration, Malawians want to see his government engage a higher gear to increase the pace of change.
The president did not provide sources for the purported public opinion but said his government has responded by prioritizing three delivery accelerators to speed up the realization of the agenda to create jobs, create wealth, and create food security.
These accelerators are infrastructure, especially in the areas of transport and energy; human capital, especially in the areas of health and education; and governance reform and digitization.
“To use a metaphor, the creation of jobs, wealth, and food security is the promised land at the end of our journey,” said Chakwera.
“Put simply, the three-pronged yardstick by which we will measure either the urgency or agency of any government policy, or program, or project we will be presenting before this House is whether it puts meals on the tables of Malawians, money in the pockets of Malawians, and work in the hands of Malawians.”
The president’s claims that Malawians are happy with his administration’s performance come amid concerns over the rising cost of living since he took over.
Rights group CDEDI said earlier this week that people are struggling to make ends meet due to punitive taxes, levies, high interest rates and exorbitant prices on essential services and products such as water, electricity, fuel and high mobile phone tariffs.
Malawians have also been accusing President Chakwera of failing to implement the Tonse Alliance promises on creation of one million jobs, reduction of passport fees and removal of water and electricity connection fees.
