The whole of Thursday the coalition of seven opposition partiesin Malawi has been saying it has scoffed overtures by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) to join a proposed government of national unity, but at a hastily convened meeting at the private residence of former president Bakili Muluzi in Blantyre, the Republican Party of veteran politician Gwanda Chakuamba and the Movement for Genuine Democratic Change (MGODE) finally agreed to team up with the UDF to work together in the government. "As the saying goes, a day can be too long in politics," a local observer said on the condition of anonymity. As part of the deal, apart from getting positions in cabinet, Chakuamba has withdrawn his court case challenging the results of the May 20 presidential and parliamentary elections. Chakuamba was widely tipped to be the winner ahead of the elections, but he emerged only the third after UDF candidate Binguwa Mutharika and John Tembo, candidate of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

Just hours ago, leaders of the coalition said in a statement that joining the UDF government would be betrayal of the trust of the people who voted for them. At the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding, thetwo opposition parties agreed to bring their MPs into government in a bid to bolster ruling UDF numbers in parliament. Muluzi, beaming with pride at the all-important coup his party has pulled, said the coming on board of the Republican Party and the MGODE proves his belief that time for politicking was over.

He said time for politics was when Malawi's first president thelate Hastings Kamuzu Banda was fighting colonialists and when he was fighting Banda's dictatorship. "It is my belief that we have now reached the third phase of economic transformation," he said.

Muluzi, who remains national chairman for the ruling party, praised the two parties for showing maturity. On his part, Chakuamba, who as late as Thursday afternoon was still denying going to bed with the UDF, said the signing ceremonyhas vindicated his belief that when one accepts democracy one has to be prepared to accept every eventuality. He pledged his party'ssupport for a smooth government. "I pledge my party's support for government," he said. The coming on board of Chakuamba's Republican Party has eased the pressure from President Bingu wa Mutharika whose party garnered only 49 seats in the 193-member parliament. Chakuamba's Republican Party will contribute its 16 MPs to government while the MGODE brings in 3 MPs. The government still needs to lure the 39 independent MPs to have a comfortable working majority.

The move by Chakuamba to join the government has effectively broken the seven-member coalition. Aleke Banda, who was the running mate to Chakuamba, has said his Peoples' Progressive Movement, which has six MPs, was not party to Chakuamba's move. "All the remaining five parties in the coalition will be meeting tonight to consider our next move," he said. The coalition, which together had 27 MPs, already made a pack with the largest party in parliament, the main opposition MCP, which has 56 MPs and the National Democratic Alliance of former senior minister Brown Mpinganjira to provide an "effective opposition to the UDF."

National
Chakuamba confuses Bingu’s party in the North
by Edwin Nyirongo, 06 April 2005 - 15:52:09

There is more confusion in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the North after Agriculture Minister Gwanda Chakuamba disclosed that Republican Party Northern Region committees would take over regional DPP structures. But deputy DPP regional governor for the North Newton Kaira disputed the move, saying no communication has been made from the DPP headquarters. Chakuamba claimed on Sunday that there was an agreement with President Bingu wa Mutharika that RP would take over the structures depending on its strength in an area and members would be mixed where RP is weak.

“We agreed with President Mutharika that where RP is strong, the committees there will comprise the RP members and where we are not strong then we will mix members. So here in the North the RP is strong and all the positions will comprise RP members,” he claimed. He said RP members in the North should not get worried because their positions are intact and that what was needed was their endorsement that he should dissolve the party. “Things cannot be always right because some people have problems in understanding. For example while this agreement is on, some people have already started forming committees in Nsanje saying they are DPP. That is not the way things should be,” Chakuamba said. Earlier on, committee members complained to Chakuamba that they feared of being left out of the DPP system because the party’s structures have already been made in the North. “Mr. President, we hear that the committees in the North have already been formed. They say the Friends of Viphya has been turned into political structures for the DPP here. What is our share?” asked a delegate from Karonga who claimed that he was given the position in DPP without being approached. But Kaira said as far as he is concerned, regional positions in the North are those which were for Friends of Viphya until there is proper communication. “We cannot take what Hon. Chakuamba is saying because we have had no communication from the DPP headquarters. Until we get one, our positions remain the same,” he said.

 

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