MALAWI: Citizens reaffirm Bishops’ decry of lack of intra-party democracy in political parties
Following a phone-in radio program recently organized by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office and hosted on Radio Maria Malawi, Malawians have reiterated the statement of the Catholic Bishops in their Pastoral Letter entitled ‘A Call for a New Era in Malawi’, issued on 25th, April, 2018. In the Letter, the Bishops had said, “… Regretfully, most if not all political parties in Malawi have since 1993 failed to promote intra-party democracy.”
Among the reasons the Bishops had given in support of their assertion included the fact that, key decisions are often made by the party leader alone and sometimes only upon consultation with cronies, hangers-on or tribesmen. The bishops had also observed failure among political leaders to have open debate about which parties to partner with in elections and who may be the party’s presidential candidate’s running mate in a general election and the fact that many party leadership positions are often appointed by the party leader and not elected through a convention.
At the same time the Bishops pointed out that more often than not those that hold views differing from the party’s leadership are often banished and considered as traitors and called all manner of derogatory terms. There was also the issue of aligning developmental projects in areas deemed to be supporting the ruling party and also lack of continuity in development policies and programmes because each political administration comes up with its own agenda. All these pointed to a country that yearns for democracy and therefore the call from the Bishops for a New Era in Malawi.
During the phone-in program whose aim was to comprehensively explain to listeners the content of the April 2018 Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, citizens who participated expressed a general feeling of dissatisfaction on the social-economic situation in the country.
“Some members in our society have despaired as they see no one who can assist Malawi to come out of the entrenched corruption and mismanagement of resources,” explained Father Henry Chinkanda, the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Officer under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi ECM.
![Rev. Fr. Henry Chinkanda, ECM Parliamentary Liaison Officer [courtesy]](https://communications.amecea.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Rev.-Fr.-Henry-Chinkanda.jpg)
ECM Parliamentary
Liaison Officer [courtesy]
“Judging from the feedback we received through phone calls that came in from the listeners across the country and even from abroad, some people accept responsibility that the citizenry usher in bad leaders into power by voting unwisely and there is need to pray for our country especially as we approach the 2019 General Elections so that through our votes, God may grant us a good leader,” expressed Father Chinkanda who was also among the panellists during the phone-in program.
He further disclosed that the listeners who phoned-in during the program expressed gratitude to Malawian Catholic Bishops for issuing a timely Pastoral Letter and recommended that such phone-in programs should be done frequently to engage the common citizens in the conversations that aims to create a better Malawi.
The panellists during the discussion on the phone-in radio program which was moderated by Rev. Fr. Joseph Kimu, director of Radio Maria Malawi included, Rev. Fr. Dominic Kazingatchire of the Catholic University of Malawi, Msgr. Frank Chingale – Vicar General for the Diocese of Mangochi, and Father Henry Chinkanda – the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Officer under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi.
Radio Maria Malawi which broadcasts throughout the country became operational on 24thAugust, 1999. It operates from the Catholic Diocese of Mangochi and broadcast religious and social programmes 24 hours a day. The primary language used for broadcasting is Chichewa/Chinyanja, the national language of Malawi. Few other programs are in Chiyao and Chitumbuka.
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By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
