The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) says President Lazarus Chakwera’s address to Malawians on Sunday showed that he is dishonest and is not concerned about the well-being of Malawians.
In a statement on Monday, CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa said Chakwera has been silent regarding pertinent issues such as the K6.2 Billion Covid-19 report.
Namiwa noted that at the height of demands from members of the public for transparency in the way government used the MK6.2 Billion Covid-19 funds, Chakwera promised Malawians that he would be ready with a comprehensive report within thirty days.
Namiwa said: “It’s now more than two months since the scandal was uncovered, but President Chakwera is acting as if nothing happened. This clearly shows that Dr. Chakwera is a very dishonest leader, and we cannot rule out his involvement in the misappropriation of the funds.
“How about the expenditure report on the MK17.5 Billion Covid-19 funds? Is the President going to say anything on this?”
Namiwa also condemned President Chakwera’s silence on the political violence that happened on Saturday in Karonga district.
The violence involved members of Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Vice President Saulos Chilima’s UTM.
According to Namiwa, the expectation of CDEDI and all peace-loving Malawians was that Chakwera would seize the opportunity in his address to the nation on Sunday to condemn in the strongest terms the barbaric acts.
“The President has up to now remained mum on the matter, giving signals that he might have given his blessings on these barbaric acts,” said Namiwa.
He added that if such is the case, then Malawians should fasten their seat-belts in preparation for a disastrous crash landing ahead.
Namiwa also said that the president is showing dishonesty on the implementation of the campaign manifesto which he claimed has has already planted some seeds of mistrust in a lot of Malawians.
According to Namiwa, Malawians have now become very frustrated because what they were sold prior to the June 23, 2020 Fresh Presidential Elections (FPE) by the Tonse Alliance partners, is definitely not what is being currently delivered.
“Dishonesty leads to mistrust, and this will consequently lead to very serious repercussions on Dr. Chakwera, in not so a distant future,” he explained.
