Malawi to move forward

I would prefer to think Malawi our country is on political watershed.
Provided this point in our nationhood is appreciated by the vast
majority of her peoples. It is for us to see the opportunity created
by God for us and to take up the challenge. We dare not miss this
opportunity. We have all along allowed ourselves to learn from our
mistakes in the governing of our country. This has resulted in fearful
costs. In time in human and material resources. The question is can we
afford to continue incurring such awful costs we who are poor?

Now we essentially have a transitional President. There is very little
Joyce Banda can accomplish in the remaining two years by way of
infrastructural deveolpment in a poor and cash strapped country. Let's
be realistic. I for expect her to focus in mop up operations - e.g
repairing strained diplomatic relations; reuniting a divided nation,
reestabilishing some rule of law and some measure of trust by citizens
in their government. And most importantly to begin the process of
Constitutional Reforms that PAC demanded

Just as the Constitution was respected in allowing Vice President
Joyce Banda to succeed the deceased President Bingu wa Mutharika so it
must be in recogniznig DPP the Majority Party in Parliament. How can
Majority Party be called an opposition. If this is what the
Constitution says it is an anomaly. Another valid reason to
reform/rewrite our Constitution

Governance
Why are we at crossroads in the history of our country. Malawi has a
government that has two centres of power namely President Mrs Joyce
Banda who is leader of Peoples' Party and DPP the Majority Party in
Parliament. This is Democracy at work. I'm excited. By the way DPP are
not an Opposition Party. In my view that's the function and title of
MCP. The first time Malawi had this situation was from 2005 to 2009.
Many Malawians admit that President Bingu wa Mutharika did a good job
in his first term. Correct. For the President gets the credit when
things go well in the country.He also gets the blame when things are
bad
But the Parliament should get some credit too for her Bingu's DPP was
insignificant just as is PP now.. With the benefit of hindsight. For
in the absence of strong Parliament the worst side of Bingu surfaced
as evidenced by failure after failure in governance and by his
autocractic rule

Resources
Is it really true our country is poor? I beg to disagree. Kamuzu Banda
came back home with only his life and his education. Nothing in
materail wealthy contrary to popular belief inculcated by he himself
and his Goebbels. Bakili too had nothing, if any thing only debts when
he entred the State House. Bingu wa Mutharika' recognizable asset was
a poor secondhand minibus when he became President. Yet all three left
the State house shamefully wealthy. If Malawi were poor where did
these three Presidents obtain their riches? Of course from the
country. For hand in hand with their accumulation of wealthy ordinary
Malawians got poorer and poorer. It is asimple law of physics applied
on the monetary arena. Where the land terrain is uneven water drains
from upland to lowland. The money too flow from the haves to have notd
- from taxpayers to the Presidents who had nothing in the first place.
And of course from donors too
A country operate pretty much like a house. A house earns good money
by the average standrads but the husband spends most of it on loose
living. The wife and children suffer in perpetual poverty. No matter
how lttle money the family makes that family will thrive and prosper
if the husband and all its members utilize the meagre resources for
the benefit of the house only. The neighbours will also benefit by
lesson or by the fact they don't have a begging neighbour. But if this
poor house has a husband who spends the little earnings on loose
living, that family is in danger of pershing

Malawi is rather like the latest scenario. The so called political
readers weren't leaders at all. A leader is that one who like a
sherpard leads the country and people to green pastures. But they
didn't. All three

Constitutional Refeorms - Creating a New Malawi

This crossroad we are at we need to look on the present and then peer
into the future. The cruel present ought to be a wake up call to fresh
thinking. And say enough is enough. Since 1962 Malawi has been a
nation of personlities in the Presidents. What has been the
consquencies? Disaster -  political confusion, enslavement and
economic stagnation and mess. Socially we are a people who shun the
facts and the truth, the cunning work of of the Presidents. Zambia
chose to be neighbouly

Now is the time to recreate our country. It must be a country of laws
now. A country where all her people are under law. No one irrespective
of position must never be above law

The Constitution of Malawi now. Let's start from here. We should
reform the Constitution. Or better still we should rewrite a new
Constitution. This Constitution must declare Malawi a Federal country,
Federalism being a system that divides the government into national
and provincial levels will diminish the threat of dictatorship, abuse
of power and theft of State resources by elected government officials
at either the two levels as well as at lower levels (districts). The
form and shape of federalism are the subject of discussions during the
reform/rewriting process, Federalism will unite the country more than
ever before. For only free people can live with other free people.
Managing some of their local affairs gives a measure of satisfaction
to a people and this contentment in in turn is likely to excite and
strengthen national unity

Conclusion
President Mrs Joyce Banda stands on the crest of that watershed. She
is advised to respect DPP's majority status in Parliament and
acknowledge the party the other centre of power. This summons forth
her negotiating and persuasive skills and her power to ininfluence
people and events. For she will these qualities if she hopes to get
her programs through Parliament. The peoples of Malawi too need do
their part - to accept DPP as the Majority party and another centre of
power. The other citizen duty is to watch that neither of these power
centre is a danger to personal freedom and to democracy. Stop
personalising the country. JB to see that Constitutional Reforms get
underway without delay

Her two years of Presidency might be the best years our country ever had