By Burnett Munthali
UTM leader Dr. Dalitso Kabambe’s advisor, Patricia Kaliati, has accused the current government of deliberately failing to implement the promises made under the Tonse Alliance.
She claimed the administration of President Lazarus Chakwera intentionally avoided fulfilling the commitments championed by the late Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima.
According to Kaliati, this was done to ensure that the brilliance and policy ideas associated with Chilima would not be visible to the public.
She cited the refusal by the government to reduce the price of fertilizer as one example of a promise that was abandoned despite being achievable.
Kaliati stressed that the pledges which UTM and Dr. Chilima had championed during the campaign were realistic and attainable if UTM had been in the driver’s seat.
She further advised Malawians to avoid voting for leaders out of habit or tradition, warning that recycled leadership has failed to deliver economic transformation.
In her remarks, Kaliati urged citizens to choose leaders with proven capabilities to fix the economy and chart a new course for Malawi.
She highlighted Dr. Dalitso Kabambe as the right candidate with the knowledge and experience necessary to turn around the country’s economic fortunes.
Kaliati was speaking this afternoon in Chitakale, Mulanje, where Dr. Kabambe and UTM held whistle-stop meetings to drum up support.
Her comments signal UTM’s growing strategy of directly contrasting its vision and leadership with that of the ruling Malawi Congress Party under President Chakwera.
Concluding Analysis
Patricia Kaliati’s attack underscores a deepening rift between UTM and its former Tonse Alliance partner, the MCP.
By framing Dr. Chilima’s abandoned promises as deliberate sabotage, she is seeking to reignite public sympathy for UTM while positioning Dr. Kabambe as Chilima’s rightful successor.
The challenge, however, remains whether UTM can transform these criticisms into tangible political momentum ahead of the 2025 elections.
If Malawians resonate with Kaliati’s argument that capable leadership has been stifled by politics of suppression, then Kabambe’s candidacy may emerge as a powerful alternative.
But if these claims fail to translate into a clear and organized campaign message, UTM risks being trapped in nostalgia for Chilima rather than presenting Kabambe as a leader in his own right.
