Leader of the main opposition Malawi Congress Party, Lazarus Chakwera, has, for the first time, commented on the wrangles that have rocked the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which have seen two factions, one for President Peter Mutharika and the other for his Vice Saulos Chilima, emerging.
Speaking at Ekwendeni in Mzimba District on Saturday, Chakwera said the infighting in DPP is symptomatic of a ruling party that has lost control of its own affairs and, consequently, those of the nation.
He, however, said Malawians are the biggest losers as people who are supposed to serve them in the various aspects of life are preoccupied with outwitting each other on the political stage.
“Time is running out and it is evident that DPP has failed to run the government. They are saying among themselves that things are not well in this country. I have heard the cries of Malawians from all corners of the country and my vision is to help us all attain the new Malawi that we all wish for,” Chakwera said.
Chakwera, who is also Leader of Opposition in Parliament, attacked Chilima, saying he has nothing new to offer the country as he has been part of the impunity that has been going on under the DPP administration in the last four years.
He said Chilima has no moral ground to condemn the looting and deep-rooted corruption, further calling on Malawians not to be carried away by the Chilima movement.
“It is like people [are] on a journey to Blantyre from Lilongwe, then one of you realises midway around Chiweta [Rumphi] District that you took a wrong direction. You cannot be part of an errand for four years then come back and say the driver was misleading the vehicle. It is absurd because all of you on that bus missed the way,” he said.
The remarks have, however, not gone down well with members of the Chilima movement, with its leader in the Northern Region, Afiki Mbewe, hitting back at Chakwera, saying the MCP leader is intimidated by the competition that Chilima brings to the political arena.
Mbewe added that, throughout the four years of being Vice-President, Chilima has been a spectator as he has not held any influential position in DPP and was, as such, not part of the bad decisions made by the government.
Chakwera later hosted a fundraising dinner by the party, dubbed Tambala Night, where MCP second vice-president Harry Mkandawire reiterated his boss’s sentiments on the DPP wrangles.
“People were amazed by what the president said at Ekwendeni. It was eye-opening. By now, even a man in the village knows that what is going on in DPP could be some deal gone wrong. We will, however, not waste time on castigating them since they are destroying each other already,” Mkandawire said.
Leave a Reply