The mighty Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has advised the Tonse Alliance Government to call for a referendum to measure its popularity if Malawians are still interested in its style of leadership.
DPP believes that Dr Lazarus Chakwera’s administration has failed to govern the country’s affairs following the economic meltdown the country is experiencing in a space of two years.
The Democratic Progressive Party called a press briefing in Lilongwe where the party assembled a batch of its sharp brains to tackle the predicament that the country is in due to what it called indecisive leadership by Dr Chakwera.
First to address the media was the Party’s Spokesperson Shadreck Namalomba who said Dr Chakwera’s leadership has failed to deliver its promises, therefore, Malawians have lost trust and he challenged the government to call for a referendum.
“At this stage, I advise the Tonse government to hold a referendum to hear people’s views on how you are running the affairs,” he said.
In his turn, Former Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe took a swipe at President Chakwera’s administration for spending opulently at a time the country is running short of foreign currency.
“The essence of leadership is to enhance people’s welfare but this government has failed. The President is busy spending the meagre resources in dollars and at the same time, he preaches cost-cutting measures. That’s why we are calling for a referendum for the people to assess his popularity,” said Gondwe.
DPP President for the Eastern Region Bright Msaka took time to remind Malawians of the mouthwatering promises made by the Tonse Alliance government that have not been materialized to date.
For example, the Former Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister said it was embarrassing in Parliament for Minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe to advise farmers to buy two bags of manure fertilizer after the government failed to deliver the required fertilizers to the farmers in time.
“They promised several things and have failed to implement them. Instead, they are busy convincing people that they have delivered. We in the DPP believe that development is felt by the people themselves without coercing or forcing them to believe.”
In his remarks, one of the country’s economic maestros Dr Dalitso Kabambe said the country is in the current economic mess due to what he dubbed poor economic policies on the fiscal and monetary sides by the Chakwera administration.
Dr Kabambe who is also the Former Reserve Bank Governor and during his tenure in office the country enjoyed single-digit inflation among other economic benefits, also accused the Tonse Alliance leadership of overspending.
“This government has failed to put the right economic policies to sustain our economy. Malawians are suffering today because the current leadership has messed up and it has no clue on how to turn around things.
Since the Tonse Alliance took over power from the DPP through a court-sanctioned fresh Presidential election in June 2020 the country’s economy has been on a nose-diving.
The development has seen the increased prices of almost all of the basic commodities on the domestic market. To add more misery to the already fragile economy, the country’s currency the Kwacha has been devalued by 25 per cent.
These are some of the several factors that the Democratic Progressive Party has challenged the Tonse Alliance Government to call for a referendum to measure its popularity.
