MALAWI: Catholic Bishops Lament Lack of Visionary Leadership in the Country
ECM BISHOPS 2024
By Stella Zulu
The Catholic Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) have expressed dismay at the country’s state of affairs which they say has become far worse than four years ago due to leadership failure.
The Bishops expressed this in a Pastoral Letter issued on the Second Sunday of Lent, 25th February 2024 titled The Sad Story of Malawi. In the letter, the Bishops lamented fruitless engagements with the State President on the plight of the poor in the country, the rampant rise of corruption, empty words in curtailing unnecessary expenditure and dubious deals, nepotism, and infringement on the rights to the Press just to mention a few.
“We are disturbed by the lingering rumor that there are plans to hurridly change the 50% +1 electoral system, the wise thing to do is to take it off the table right away”. Added the Bishops
The Bishops have, therefore, warned the Tonse Alliance government that instead of issuing new promises, they must work on the many promises that are in Limbo; “The affordable inputs Programme has become a Joke, targeting only a handful of people. Where is the fertilizer to be bought at MK4,955 per bag? As a result, the nation faces food insecurity.” Said the bishops.
The ECM went on to highlight corruption in the Judiciary, victimization of elderly people on the accusation of practicing Witchcraft, the need to respect and Care for creation, Intraparty squabbling,
religious intolerance, and violence as indications that Malawi is arriving at ‘Bagamoyo’ ( a place of no hope), a land of hunger, disease, poverty and corruption, a land Malawians wanted to leave for the promised land.
The Bishops therefore asked the government to stop being greedy and put first the interests of the people who voted them into power.
