President Lazarus Chakwera has come under fire from the regional Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) for failure to report and call for assistance from neighboring countries to assist in the search for the missing Malawi Defense Force aeroplane carrying the state vice president, Soulos Chilima.
According to the latest SABC report, the South African authorities said it could take them only 45 minutes to tangibly respond if the call was made on time for their expertise in search and rescue operations
However, SADC has criticized Chakwera for not utilizing regional resources and for failing to follow protocol in reporting the incident to neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, the SADC has called for an immediate investigation into the handling of the situation and has urged for better communication and cooperation among member states in times of crisis. Chakwera has defended his actions, stating that he acted in the best interest of the country and will continue to seek assistance from all available sources.
Meanwhile, the families of those on board are growing increasingly desperate for any news or updates on the situation with Chakwera promises to do everything in his power to find the missing aircraft and bring closure to the families affected by this tragedy.
In his late state of the Nation Address, the Malawi leader said he has requested for assistance from UK, USA and Israel
The aircraft carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others is yet to be traced several hours after it went missing reportedly due to bad weather but the search and rescue operations continue.
Last evening, President Lazarus Chakwera pledged to leave no stone unturned to ensure the plane is found with survivors.
Meanwhile, UTM, a political party that Chilima leads is this morning scheduled to hold a press briefing in Lilongwe on the matter following the emergency party’s Central Committee meeting last night.
