President Lazarus Chakwera says his administration has been marred by shocks such as natural disasters, health crises and global supply chain disruptions, but he has worked hard to surmount them.

Speaking at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe yesterday, the President said despite his critics finger-pointing at his administration’s perceived shortfalls, they have never handled problems of this magnitude.

Chakwera’s remarks, made during the launch of the K1.7 billion Malawi Agriculture Entrepreneurship Mechanisation Initiative, come barely days after former president Peter Mutharika said the Tonse Alliance administration has failed to deliver on its campaign promises andhas  left the country’s economy worse off than when the Democratic Progressive Party administration left it.

But in his speech at the launch, which was also attended by Vice-President Saulos Chilima and other senior government officials, the President said his government has had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions to global supply chains caused by international conflicts and the Cholera pandemic, among other challenges.

Said Chakwera: “It is not right… Some people are better off today because they stole from the people. They did not face the challenges, including the debt repayments we are facing now because they took high-interest loans.

“They should not be critical because they did worse. Their economic mismanagement scared off donors who we are trying to win back. Asatilankulitse pambali [they should not test our patience].”

Chakwera inspects some of the equipment
acquired through the initiative

He said the support his administration has been receiving from development partners, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank, among others, shows that the country is on the right track.

Said the President: “Today, we have Philip Morris International coming in to sponsor this agriculture mechanisation which is crucial to developing our economy because they have confidence that we have created an environment to sustain this initiative.”

The K1.7 billion initiative financed by the Philip Morris Institute and implemented by Pyxus Agriculture Malawi Limited, seeks to promote sustainable tobacco production by providing seed capital for purchasing 23 tractors which will be transferred to local entrepreneurs upon loan repayments.

It is expected to support the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) long-term development strategy which lists enhancing agricultural productivity and commercialisation as a key driver of Malawi’s dream of becoming an inclusively wealthy and resilient and lower middle-income economy by 2030.

Reacting to Chakwera’s remarks, political and communications analyst Chimwemwe Tsitsi said the President made a tactical decision to respond to his critics at a forum where he was launching an initiative that would revamp the agriculture sector, the backbone of the country’s economy that employs over 80 percent of the population.

He said: “Chakwera has been criticised over his economic management, so this launch was a perfect platform to respond and show that he is working to fix the economy. For a politician, there is no such thing as a campaign period. Politicians are assessed on what they do from the time they are elected.”

In a separate interview, political scientist Ernest Thindwa said the verbal tussle between the Tonse Alliance and the opposition DPP is healthy for democracy because it gives voters alternative views.

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