March 10th Demos Given Go Ahead

By: Happy Arnold Soko

Pressure continues to mount on Malawian leader Peter Mutharika after police in Lilongwe have granted human rights activist Billy Mayaya the go ahead with the 10th March scheduled demonstration.

Mayaya who dropped his letter to Lilongwe Police yesterday is expected to hold demonstrations demanding Mutharika to address the current high cost of living and the political challenges that the country is facing.

Speaking with The Malawi Star on Thursday, Mayaya said Mutharika has to respect the democratic rights of Malawians and therefore he should go. The activist hinted that Malawians are tired of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) style of governance and he will not be spared. He added that should the 90 days ultimatum expire and nothing changes then the constitution will follow.

“If he denies resigning within the 90 days there is a constitution provision for impeachment. The leader is not living up to the expectations of the people. There is a lack of political will in our leaders to meet the demand of poor Malawians,” he stated.

He blasted the DPP administration for failing to consider the alternatives by the opposition political parties. According to Mayaya, Mutharika is ranked zero out of ten among the presidents that Malawi have had this far.

“When somebody gets a zero then what do you do? You have to demand accountability by means of either resignation or give him a time period for change [within a given] framework. Democracy is by the people and for the people so the people will decide. If he resigns then for whoever takes over, we will set up criteria of needs and demands to say that this leader has failed within this period of time and demand you to focus in those areas. It will be a social contract between the elected leader and the citizens. It’s a matter of ensuring that the social contract is upheld,” added Mayaya.

During the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) stakeholders meeting held in Blantyre, activists and opposition parties proposed and demanded collective solutions from the government. The collective decisions required a collective framework comprising various political parties to be involved in unity government for a period of time until new elections are called.

Meanwhile, Mayaya has reiterated that Mutharika should not expect another term of leadership.

He explained, “Three months is enough for Mutharika to turn things [around] and we are not giving him another five years to sort [out] his mess. We urge him to give food to these hungry people immediately and 90 days is enough for him.

Currently, Malawians will dig deep into their pockets following the fuel hike, which influences the price of goods and services in the country. The hike is due to the Kwacha dwindling against the US dollar.