BY JAMESON CHAULUKA:
Political analyst Ernest Thindwa has described the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s upcoming National Governing Council (NGC) meeting as long overdue.
President Peter Mutharika announced during his acceptance speech as DPP president at the just-ended convention that he would call for the first NGC meeting in five years in 10 day’s time.
“After the independence celebrations, I am calling for an NGC meeting. The NGC will set up a disciplinary committee which will be sorting out all disciplinary issues because, as you are aware, there are a number of issues we should sort out. I want all of you who have positions in the NGC to work osati kumangopita ku makampani kukatenga ma contract mu dzina la chipani ayi [you should not be demanding business deals from companies in the name of the party],” he said.
The announcement follows a unanimous decision by delegates at the just-ended convention to amend the party’s constitution to clearly spell out grounds for automatic dismissal.
Grounds, according to the new constitution, include trading confidential information and bad-naming the president.
But Thindwa said the absence of an NGC meeting for five years means there is no intraparty democracy in the party.
“How can a big party like DPP go without an NGC for five years? One wonders how the party was making decisions if the leaders were not meeting at the top level where decisions are made. This is why some of us say political parties in the country are personal properties; only the owners decide when the party can meet,” he said.
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