Dear judge Mbadwa,

Perception is indeed everything, my lord, and the Tokha Alliance should be very worried now that two thirds of Nyasa citizens perceive that they are reigning under a worse corruption environment than their predecessors, the People’s Demagogic Party (PDP).

It is some troubling news because it is the promise to fight corruption like never before that somehow endeared a majority to Tokha after being pissed off by the PDP’s corruption record.

The Tokha Alliance can rant and rave all they care about this worrying corruption perception, but they are not going to change anything by going on the defensive, claiming they have actually initiated a large-scale fight against corruption because this is not what the people think.

My lord, the survey is quite an indictment of the Tokha’s lackadaisical approach to doing things. As I have argued before, its unnecessary fight against Marita, the director general who assumed office by public demand has been interpreted by the public in the manner that some people within the system have already dipped their dirty fingers into the corruption pot in just two years of rule. That is quite some record, too, beating the PDP?

The issue of perception arguably borders on trust and from the look of things even the majority of the people think the Nyasaland Office of the President and Cabinet is in the top-four tier of institutions perceived to be the most corrupt at 37 percent of Nyasas holding that view.

Now, if the people do not have the confidence in that office, who else can they trust because the office is at the pinnacle of directing policy of the Tokha Are Liars.

By the way, the likes of Roy Welensky and Robert Armitage are no longer responsible for that office; hence, they cannot be blamed for the mess.

I heard Uthengawabwino Kwamzako saying the perception is due to inadequate information and I don’t agree with his analysis. The perception of corruption is a result of Tokha’s fumbling of its rule so much that it is now perceived to go against the same principles it advanced during the campaign.

Honourable, the current corruption perception cloth of Tokha is too dirty to be cleaned by soap of public relations alone. Tokha needs to stop behaving as if they are still on a political honeymoon by not shielding anyone compromised.

Lazaro, too, finds himself in a fix because of the handlers he appointed without due diligence as they have perfected the art of tarnishing his name.

Well, a village head who appoints a cattle rustler, a drunkard and a wife stealer into his council of advisers will always be perceived as one of them. If he wants to start walking the talk, he should get rid of covetous handlers.

Let the Tokha positively receive the results of the survey if it wants to convince the masses it can govern beyond 2025.

This is free advice that praise singers do not want to hear.

Regards,

John Citizen

With Emmanuel LucianoFeedback: whatsapp 09 99 253 633

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