LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) demands President Lazarus Chakwera and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to pay back MK90 million to treasury for using public funds for political rallies during Kamuzu Day celebration.
CDEDI told the news conference on Thursday, May 16, 2024 that Chakwera and MCP could use their own funds for campaign trail.
“CDEDI urges President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to rise above party politics and stop his Tonse Alliance administration from dipping its dirty fingers in the public kitty to finance Malawi Congress Party (MCP) campaign rallies a head of the 2025 General Election.
“CDEDI has taken this position following the hijacking of the Kamuzu Day commemoration that took place at the Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, on Tuesday 14th May 2024, which reportedly cost the taxpayer a whopping MK90 million, only to turn it into an MCP campaign rally,” reads CDEDI statement signed by its Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa.
Namiwa adds, “In fact, by falling into the trap of politicizing the event, President Chakwera and his cronies only succeeded in diluting the importance of remembering the country’s first post-independence leader, the late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
“President Chakwera should be reminded that he declared Malawi a state-of disaster earlier this year, implying that the country needs well-wishers to feed its starving citizenry”.
He adds, “Therefore, it is only fair and prudent that he should act as a parent in need of assistance to save his children from starvation. Otherwise, the MCP lavish spending in the pretext of remembering Kamuzu was a cause that did not augur well with the state of affairs in the country. To be precise, it was a needless luxury.
“Need we remind the President that under his watch, public debt has ballooned to unprecedented levels, staggering at MK13 trillion; therefore, he has no moral high ground to spend carelessly when the poor majority of this country are literally struggling to survive”.
Namiwa explains, “Much as we at CDEDI appreciate the significance of remembering Kamuzu, we categorically condemn the idea of moving the commemoration to Blantyre, or any other part of the country other, than that close to Kamuzu Mausoleum, which is cost-effect considering that the President’s official residence is within the city where the mausoleum is.
“CDEDI fills duty-bound to challenge President Chakwera and his MCP to refund Treasury the hard-earned public money they used to finance the Kamuzu Stadium political rally on May 14 2024. By any measure and standard that event was a political platform not befitting a State event that could foster unity among Malawians”.
He observes further, “Frankly speaking, we at CDEDI side with those well-meaning Malawians who believe this year’s Kamuzu Day comemmoration was moved from Lilongwe to Blantyre in a desperate attempt to counter the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rally that took place at Njamba Freedom Park on Sunday, May 13, 2024.
“In fact, it was a lost opportunity by President Chakwera to unite Malawians when he decided to join the bandwagon of political bickering, instead of accounting for his campaign promises, especially now that the country is heading towards the next General Election with nothing worth writing home about as regards Tonse Alliance’s promises for a better Malawi”.
Namiwa says, “However, it is our hope that the President got the message loud-and-clear from the booing that filled the Kamuzu Stadium as he delivered his speech.
“To us, the message was clear that the majority of the people that thronged the stadium for a national cause suddenly felt out of place as the event was stripped off its true meaning in the eyes of the patronage that included foreign envoys who had come to pay tribute to the fallen statesman and, seriously, had no business to do with MCP”.
“CDEDI appeals to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to be on the alert on this simmering trouble ahead of September 16 2025, to ensure not only a level playing field, but also ensure transparency and accountability on political financing in a bid to save public funds from abuse by the party in government.
“Last but not the least, CEDI is appealing to the Malawi Electoral Commission to zero in to nip this while in the bud to ensure not only a levelled playing field but as measure to control public borrowing to Finance MCP campaign rallies as the elections draw closer,” Namiwa urges.
Tonse Alliance government Spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu is yet to react to CDEDI demands.
