Jzu Rejects Bingu Offer

MCP President John Tembo has confirmed that State President Bingu wa Mutharika offered him the position of second Vice President but he flatly turned it down. Speaking Saturday during a news conference at his Area 10 house, Tembo said a government entourage, whose members he did not name, came to his house to tell him of the offer.

He said the group told him Mutharika had sent them to inform him that MCP must approve the national budget in exchange for him being appointed to the position of second Vice President.

But Tembo said he told the government delegation that he was happy working in the opposition, fighting for the welfare of the people of Malawi, especially those in villages. "I said 'No!' I refused. No, I can't accept to be appointed Second Vice President. I am sure that when you were coming for the press conference some of you were thinking that I had joined government as VP. No, I refused. I cannot be bought." He said he was startled to learn that the delegation wanted him to confirm he would support the budget at his house. "I asked them: Where in the world is a budget passed or supported through politicians coming to the house of somebody like they did? "I told them I could not tell whether my party would support it or not, but I am happy that we eventually supported it because it (the budget) finally adopted our initiative of introducing the universal fertilizer subsidy." Parliament approved the National Budget in principle on Friday after some amendments that included the universal fertilizer subsidy on maize and tobacco that the MCP insisted on as a means of improving food security in the country.

Asked if the universal subsidy would not bring some complications to government, considering that the IMF and World Bank restrict third world countries from practicing it, Tembo said that was not his problem. "I don't know how government is going to deal with that but my problem is dealing with matters in Malawi, and not with IMF or World Bank, "Let that be a problem with the IMF and World Bank but let it be something important to our people in the villages," he said.

The MCP President then disclosed that his party supported the approval of the budget so that government in future would not blame the opposition for failing to fulfill their promises if the opposition had rejected it. Back on the VP issue, Tembo further said he refused to accept the offer because he has noticed some of his colleagues who were in the opposition but now who are in government are surprisingly very quiet. "When people go there (government) they stop working for the people and become very silent. I don't want to do that," he said.

Tembo, who is the Leader of Opposition, suggested that if the President were serious in wanting to offer him the position of VP he would have made it very public. "If President Mutharika comes into the open and says there is a problem which he thinks will be solved by me becoming VP, that would be another issue," said Tembo.

Commenting on the impeachment motion, which the UDF party is set to table in Parliament, Tembo said although the issue has never been on MCP's agenda they would react to it once it is on the floor. "When it comes on to floor, we will weigh the grounds given for impeachment and, if there would be valid grounds we will support it but if not, we will wash our hands off it," he said.

However, he confirmed that his party is in full support of amending parliamentary standing orders to lay the way for impeachment because, he said, doing so would bring the standing orders in line with the Republic Constitution. "We are supporting the amending of standing orders so as to regularize the procedure," he said.

In the event that Tembo had accepted the offer he would have lost his parliamentary seat as stipulated in the Republic Constitution in section 80 (7) (e). He would have also risked being stripped of his position as Leader of Opposition in Parliament.

Lecturer of political science at Chancellor College, Boniface Dulani said Tembo risked losing his position of Leader of Opposition in Parliament if he became second VP. "Just as the name suggests, Leader of Opposition comes from the largest opposition party in Parliament and if he joined government he would automatically have lost his position. "He cannot continue to be Leader of Opposition if he is working in government," said Dulani.

He said if Tembo had accepted to become VP, the Leader of Opposition would have come from the UDF party, which is an opposition party. Even though President Mutharika ascended to the presidency on a UDF ticket, the party is in opposition after Mutharika dumped the party on February 5 this year.

Parliamentary Standing Orders define Leader of Opposition as, "Leader of the largest party, elected by the parliamentary membership, which is not in government or in coalition with a government party, and who is recognized by the Speaker as such".

The position of VP has been vacant ever since President Mutharika came into power in May last year. The last holder of the position was Chakufwa Chihana of AFORD who has been the only holder of the post so far. President Mutharika has so far seen no political benefit in appointing anyone to the post.

Main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) President John Tembo confessed that he declined the post of second vice president government offered him in exchange for his party’s support for the budget. This was just days after Tembo told the MCP national executive committee that he had not been approached to become vice president.

Tembo, during a press conference on Saturday in Lilongwe, said President Bingu wa Mutharika sent envoys to his Area 10 house asking him to support the budget and be given the third highest position in return.

“There was one group of people who came here to see me in my house. They said they have been sent by President Bingu wa Mutharika, they said they are messengers on two issues — one you must approve the budget and secondly the President is going to offer you the second vice presidency,” he said. Tembo said he declined both..

“On the budget I said I cannot say whether I am going to approve it because I cannot do it from my house. Nowhere in the world is the budget approved from home. On the second vice president, I say no because what I am fighting for is not complete. I am happy to continue in the opposition, I don’t want anyone to buy me,” he added.

Tembo said if the President has a problem seeking national solutions he should come out in the open and say he is inviting the opposition to discuss the matters to find a common solution. He said MCP and the rest of the opposition accepted the budget not because of pressure or the offer, but because government conceded to include a subsidy on fertiliser as well as extended the subsidy to small holder tobacco growers which he described as the main hurdle between the MCP and government.

“Our stand was that we would not support a budget which would not include a subsidy. I was very happy that skills of negotiations between the MCP and government through the Minister of Finance yielded results which we were looking for,” said Tembo who is also MP for Dedza South. But Tembo warned that passing the budget was not the end of the country’s problems, emphasising that it was up to government to make sure that all that has been promised, including the much talked economic transformation is fulfilled by July next year.

“I will play my part, MPs will play their part as they have always done, but I don’t know what tricks they have to have economic recovery,” said Tembo. He cited the rumours that government was paying schools fees for Mutharika’s grandchildren and the opening of a K20 million government account which was being drawn by a single person in cash as one of the worrying incidents which are likely to derail economic transformation.

“If it is true then I am afraid to say that we are not yet through with this problem. Unfortunately not all of those people in government are interested in economic recovery, some of them are only interested in personal recovery, they are interested in enriching themselves. Next year we will be there to take stock,” added Tembo. The MCP president also questioned Mutharika’s choice of cabinet, saying in Parliament there were a lot of able MPs who would assist to run government effectively.

“Do you think Aleke Banda is dull, inexperienced and mbuli? Do you think Malewezi is dull inexperienced and mbuli? In the opposition we have an interesting combination of heavyweights, political and economic heavyweights. Some of those in Cabinet would never be in my Cabinet,” he said. Commenting on the impeachment, Tembo said the issue has never been on the MCP agenda but said if it is tabled in Parliament the party would examine if the reasons are grave not to be ignored.“Then we will participate in the debate. I will listen to the debate and do the right thing,” he said.

But he said he has no problems with bringing in the impeachment procedures in the Standing Orders, which he said is normal regardless of who is in power and to also bring the Standing Orders in line with the Constitution that provides for the impeachment of a president. Tembo also said he would go ahead with the motion to amend Section 65 (1) which was initiated by the former Speaker late Rodwell Munyenyembe to bring sanity into the House. Commenting on the elections case which the MCP recently lost, Tembo said the MCP would respect the ruling but added that he was disappointed that the party has been denied a chance to tell the nation and the whole world what they know happened during the elections.

Government spokesperson Ken Lipenga declined to comment on government’s offer to Tembo, saying if it indeed happened it was done without the knowledge of some of government officials, including himself. Political analyst Mustaffa Hussein said on Sunday it was good that Tembo declined the post because if he had accepted the opposition would have been weakened. “If he accepted he might have been swallowed by the machinery and then compromise what his party wants with the needs of government. However, one might also argue that if he was second vice president he would be able to serve the nation better since he would be closer to power,” said Hussein.

Chairman of the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) Rodgers Newa said accepting the post would have eased the political impasse in the country. “And also considering that there is already Gwanda Chakuamba, Hetherwick Ntaba and Kate Kainja, bringing them on board to work together would be tough for Mutharika,” he added.