Will the clergy be source of Chakweras downfall?
Chakwera on public test to deliver  By Rick Dzida  History has it that the professions of the presidents contribute much to their downfall in Malawi. For starters, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the first president of Malawi, was the medical doctor by profession. Medical doctors are meant to work tirelessly to save lives. Contrary to the ethos of medical profession, Dr. Banda was busy terminating the lives of his opponents. People became agitated by his autocratic tendencies of eliminating his opponents disregarding the value of human life. People demonstrated along the streets till Dr. Banda was ousted from power. Secondly, there came Dr. Elson Bakili Muluzi who was a businessman by profession. The Kalonga Stambuli report unearthed the dubious and secretive dealings the president had taken just to amass wealth. Up to now, no one knows what and who killed Kalonga Stambuli. No Government is keen to unearth the murderer of Kalonga Stambuli. As a champion of democracy, people expected Muluzis government to give us the answers surrounding the death of Kalonga Stambuli. It is no surprise that Dr. Muluzi is still answering charges of misappropriating money. Unfortunately, Muluzis case has costed government more than what was allegedly misappropriated. Third on the line is Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika. He was an economist by profession. Despite being an economist, Malawi witnessed the worst economy. Prices of goods and services skyrocketed. Foreign forex was not available. Many people slept on the queues at the filling station waiting for the scarce fuel. The death of Bingu paved way for Joyce Banda who was well known as a business woman and a philanthropist. As a philanthropist, no one knows how many promised houses were built. One still wonders why the beneficiaries of her charity works did not vote for her. Truth be told, there is no concrete report detailing how the proceeds from the presidential jet were expended. Next is Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika (APM) who proved his political prowess by defeating Joyce Banda who was then in government. APM, as he is fondly called, is a lawyer by profession. It is his fellow lawyers from the judiciary who staged a judicial coup detat against him. The aforementioned speculation is plausible because Chakwera now is busy appeasing the judiciary in various ways such as allocating funds to the judiciary, constructing offices for the judiciary etc. Furthermore, as a professor in law, APM was expected to be conversant with the law. One good example is the appointment of MEC commissioners. DPP was supposed to feature 3 Commissioners and not 4. Much as this anomaly could have been explained if APM was given a fair trial, it still boggles the mind why this happened. It is no secret that Chakwera is the incumbent president of Malawi. And that he is a reverend by profession. Pastors and reverends are supposed to be exemplary in both words and action. Unfortunately, Chakwera is proving to be a persistent liar. He lied to the nation that he would give us a financial report about the expenditure of his inauguration ceremony. Up to now, there is no such report. Chakwera also lied to the nation that he would present to us a cabinet reshuffle by December 2020. As you are reading this, there is no cabinet reshuffle despite the availablity of vacant positions created by the death of two cabinet ministers. We heard that transport projects have stalled because there is no minister of transport. This is a pathetic situation. In addition, chakwera lied to the nation that there would be universal fertilizer subsidy. Instead, what was offered was not universal fertilizer subsidy but just the renaming of the programme and increasing the number of beneficiaries. That is taking Malawians for granted. Recently there was an outcry from Bishop Msusa towards Chakwera that this Tonse Alliance government is not doing enough to arrest the current economic situation in Malawi. High prices and unfulfilled promises are just the order of the day. Many people are skeptical if they have really arrived in the promised land of Canaan. Others have started crying foul that at least in the land of Egypt, goods and services were affordable. Let us wait and see. Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor