By Vincent Gunde
President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and the United Arab Emirates Deputy Prime Minister who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
The MoU is covering the bilateral areas of mining, trade, education and diplomatic training saying this is one way of strengthening the cordial relationship that has been existing between Malawi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for years.
Even though the MoU has been signed between the two countries, questions without answers are ringing in the heads of many Malawians looking at the timing as the country is preparing for the 16th September, 2025 elections and the benefit of the country and the citizens.
Social commentator who graduated to an independent presidential aspirant for the 16th September, 2025 elections Isaiah Emmanuel Sunganimoyo, has expressed his deep concern about the MoU signed questioning whether the country’s leaders have acted in the best interest of the nation.
Sunganimoyo said UAE’s contribution to the country’s education system is questionable despite their historical presence in the country for 496 years observing that they failed to provide quality education and instead, prioritized in mosque construction projects over building schools and hospitals.
He said to compare with the Westerners who have been in the country for 163 years, they have invested a lot in education and healthcare than the Arabs who have stayed in the country for almost 500 years.
He said it appears that the Arabs are more interested in extracting the country’s resources cautioning Malawians about exchanging their valuable resources for what seems like inadequate education faulting Malawians wrong, for prioritizing the wrongs that the Westerners did for the country.
The social commentator has claimed that the country has vast gold reserves and if managed properly, could generate significant revenue observing that 100,000 Kilograms of gold can earn the country K19.4 trillion which is enough to pay off its debts reaching K21.8 trillion by September, 2025.
“why are we relying on foreigners to manage our resources, our forests while we are struggling to benefit from our own riches? questions Sunganimoyo.
He said the deal signed between Malawi and UAE is posing significant risks to the country and its citizens including loss of control over the country’s natural resources, environmental degradation, cultural and social impacts on local communities, unequal distribution of benefits, and dependence on foreign expertise.
Sunganimoyo has finally urged the country’s leaders to reconsider this deal and prioritize self-sufficient in resource management to take control of its own destiny and ensure that the resources benefit the citizens.
