State House, Mwenefumbo slow down

This week we had two important sets of visitors, the World Bank and An assistant Secretary of State from the United States of America. For a Government currently facing massive challenges and the worst International image, this was the week it could be at its best pretending to be a good boy.

In this administration, I feel sorry and this week greatly sorry for two souls. Professor Peter Mutharika and Dr. Ken Lipenga, who after all is said and done will be judged by the public as liars and failures in their capacities.

Professor Peter Mutharika is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and since his appointment has been to the majority of the G7 capitals and a few others trying to speak and restore our battered image.

The deaths of July 20, the murder of Robert Chasowa, the ban of advertising in the Nation and section 46 and the careless speeches against those that could help us, continues to produce the crisis we are in.

I have avoided blogging while waiting for fuel for a good 17 hours, neither my shock discovering that a litre of cooking oil has now hit K1,100. The question is, who is telling the President what and is he aware of the situation on the ground?

President Mutharik decided to tell donors, he qualified saying who support lawlessness should pack and go, but he himself asked his supporters and cadets to "protect him". People have come up with different explanations.

Then came the State House press release of 8th March, a very misplaced and misguided pieces of letters. Very unfortunate and not warranted at all, it was attack on Civil Society and now the media.

Government for the whole of this week has been trying hard to convince Malawians that there is a coup plot or something like toppling of this regime being plotted by Civil Society and the Media.

The problem is that raising just a mere statement to that effect makes the Government look weak, scared and with no sense of direction. They have no idea what to do with its own people. The extreme of stopping Public Affairs Committee from holding a meeting, surely damages this administration more than before.

Surely, Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba would recall that even Dr. Kamuzu Banda allowed Public Affairs Committee to hold its own conferences in the run up to transition in 1993. Are we saying Mutharika is worse than Kamuzu, what message are we sending to the world if we cannot allow to freely meet and decide own issues?
Those that keep telling the President lies and hold him at ramson needs to stop immediately. You are damaging him, his legacy and erasing all the achievements he had in 2009. If its money and greed let them have it without creating the lies that makes him look very rudiculous in the eyes of the International Community.

The statement of March 8, was the worst one coming from a State House in a country claiming to be a democracy. You cannot stop people from expressing their opinion and scare them that you are monitoring even social media. Thats simply sick. Dr. Lipenga and Professor Mutharika has to find a very creative Public Relations Manager to explain to the donors what that statement meant.

The today, Frank Mwenefumbo decided to add salt to injury. He announced that those found reading the Nation or its products www.mwnation.com will be suspected of being sympathisers of those wishing to topple Government.

I am sure someone will have to come and clarify this week what they meant.

On Friday the Presidential Contact and Dialogue Group met Senior Journalists in Lilongwe and we told them, as much as they do a good job it is podium news that will decide the destiny of this country.

Someone in DPP believes it is time to fight back, unfortunately unlike 2004-2009 they are fighting wrong people. PAC is a religious body, the media is independent, the Judiciary is on strike who do you fight back to.

DPP requires sane and sober people urgently and restrategise its public relations strategy. This week it has been a disaster and as International media and bodies pick it up, we are doomed.

Why cant you solve the challenges we are facing and ask papers if they have anything new! Otherwise as much as DPP hates it, they are barking at nothing and wasting everybodys time by believing that their tantrums this week will change or instill fear in anybody.

The more they shout, the more people continue to think that they have no ideas to run the country.

Unfortunately time is running out, and out very fast that MWENEFUMBO needs to realise that they need to slow down or very soon, very soon, their prophecy might become true!