Former President Peter Mutharika has accused President Lazarus Chakwera of squandering forex by going on 42 trips in three years.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president said this during a press briefing regarding the state of affairs in the country.
According to Mutharika, instead of spending forex on important things like medicine, Chakwera has been wasting money to fly around the world.
“DPP left the Kwacha at 732 per dollar but now it is a valueless currency at K1700. Chakwera has borrowed K8 trillion in three years while the DPP borrowed K1.2 trillion in six years and was able to achieve macro-economic stability. DPP left forex import cover of 6 months but now it is 10 days. Chakwera and his entourage of 100 people has gone out of the country 42 times in three years. I travelled only 18 times in six years,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika also faulted Chakwera for going out of the country in times when the nation is going through hard times.
“Every time we have a crisis in this country, Chakwera runs away! He ran away when Cyclone Freddy was inevitable and he ran away again when devaluation was looming,” said Mutharika.
He added that Chakwera’s government does not consider how Malawians are faring as he has devaluated the kwacha during the time Malawians are about to purchase farm inputs.
He indicated that devaluing the Kwacha without pumping dollars in the economy is not a solution to the country’s troubles.
Mutharika also highlighted that Malawians are poor but that does not mean they are stupid.
He then advised Chakwera to reduce the number of his advisors from 23 to five, to reduce his cabinet to 20 members and to subsidize the prices of maize and fertilizer for all Malawians
“We are here to stand with Malawians, to call upon Chakwera to tell Malawians that he should reduce the number of cabinet ministers. He must tell Malawians that the cost of fertilizer should be subsidized for everyone to afford,” said Mutharika.
