In readiness for the forthcoming elections and in trying to align the party to the new constituencies, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has embarked on a party structure strengthening exercise.
On Wednesday evening, MCP Secretary General Honourable Eisenhower Mkaka, presided over a regional conference with the southern region party leadership where top of the agenda was revamping party structures.
In an interview after the meeting, Mkaka told this publication that the party seeks to strengthen party structures saying they are key to every political party’s success.
Though he said the focus of the party structures strengthening exercise is not the 2025 general elections, Mkaka indicated that party structures are the ones that determines whether a political party will be in opposition or government benches.
“This was an in-house meeting, an organic meeting taking place within the party and the primary objective is revamping party structures across the country. We believe in very strong party structures because they are the very foundation of any political party.
“My primary focus is on the strength of the structures, with or without 2025, as Secretary General I need to have very strong structures on the ground, those are the ones that determines whether a party survives in opposition or in government. So my focus is not necessarily 2025 although the 2025 elections will benefit from this exercise but the primary objective is to make sure that the structures are very strong,” said Maka.
Apart from strengthening the grassroot structures of the party, the MCP Secretary General further attributed the exercise to the new constituency boundaries created by MEC.
“This exercise ought to be understood on the context of constituency redemarcation that the Malawi Electoral Commission undertook, so we are trying to align the party structures with the new constituency boundaries that have been created by MEC,” he added.
MCP chairman for the southern region Peter Simbi, said the MCP founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda taught them that for any political party to remain strong, all structures should be respected, hence the exercise.
“MCP is strong today because Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, taught us that owners of the party are those in rural areas, in villages. We have to respect area, constituency, district and region committees, they should feel the ownership of the party and that is why the SG came here to make the party more strong,” said Simbi.
Present at the MCP meeting were ministers Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, Abida Mia and the party’s entire Southern Region leadership which included leaders of area, constituency, district, regional, women and youth committees.
