The Commander in chief of CFT people power movement Timothy Mtambo has called on Malawians living in diaspora to embrace the spirit of patriotism if they want to see real change in Malawi. Mtambo was speaking at a special event organised by MCP Diaspora and Tonse alliance partners that was attended by Malawians living in diaspora from all over the world.
The virtual event that used the video conferencing app Zoom was organised as part fundraising initiatives to raise money for the election monitors as Tonse alliance gears up to secure and safeguard the forthcoming presidential election from potential rigging. Edmund Chiphwanya who acted as the DJ for the night welcomed attendees with some music before hosts for the event Canga Kamwambi and Omega Nankhuni took over to highlight the fundraising objective of the event and to get everybody ready for the main guest
Tasked with introducing Mtambo to address the gathering, MCP Diaspora Spokesperson Chalo Mvula, expressed how thankful the diasporas were to Mtambo , who had found time amidst his busy schedules to be part of this fundraising event . Mtambo didn’t waste time but begin by telling those in diaspora that Malawi is suffering from lack of leadership, has clueless leadership that is not visionary and has left the country in a mess it is in. He expressed how sad it is that only Kamuzu was a visionary leader, who after he was gone, left the country to leaders who only think about themselves and their families , promotes nepotism, are tribalists and doesn’t care about poor Malawians.
He went further to describe Mutharika regime as the worst to happen to Malawi, describing the regime as accidental and deserving to be voted out of power. Lack of respect for the rule of law was a point Mtambo dwelled on citing
“Mutharika does not respect the constitution, he does not respect the courts and he does not respect Malawians” In his reign, Mutharika has reduced the country to extreme problems such as lack of medication in hospitals , has lowered the standards of education and has crippled the economy
Mtambo took opportunity to explain why he shifted form human rights works to politics, arguing that he has not left human rights activism but he has added political freedom to things he is fighting for . Unpacking the philosophy behind the CFT people power movement which he launched back in April, he told the attendees that the movement is not a political party and that everyone is free to join.
He said CFT will aim to take governments to task so that the constitution can be respected and to push for the implementation of development plans. At this point Comrade Mtambo urged those in diaspora to have a spirit of patriotism for Malawi, something he said is lacking among many Malawians. He argued that the spirit of patriotism will deter people from getting involved in corruption as everyone will feel they have responsibility to take care of Malawi.
He said his CFT movement will push for patriotism to be part for the syllabus so that young people are taught from young age of these values “ The lack of patriotism is what is killing Malawi , imagine , how can someone steal money that has been donated to help people due to the Covid19 pandemic? Questioned Mtambo . He further explained that the people power philosophy will also promote an idea of leadership academies where young people shall be taught necessary skills about leadership , which includes, public speaking for them to gain confidence to even stand and speak in international conferences.
He also faulted the Mutharika regime for being quick at dismissing ideas that can help Malawi. He cited land reforms issue as an example that has seen people in areas like Thyolo struggling to find land to grow crops as majority of the land are already taken up by big companies. He was however sad that the Mutharika government silenced the debate around the issue by quickly dismissing campaigner Vincent Wandale as being mentally ill.
On the economy and promotion of the business environment in Malawi, Mtambo said he is a big supporter of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and he would love to see investors continue to come to Malawi. He was however cautious on the type of investors that are coming to Malawi as majority of them are not empowering the local Malawians “ Malawi need investors that can empower local people, what we see now is that some investors are bringing human resource from abroad, buying items or supplies from abroad with the local Malawians benefitting nothing” Mtambo also said it is sad that some foreign investors are involved in very small scale businesses and blamed the government for not protecting small and medium enterprises.
When asked why he endorsed Tonse alliance and the candidacy of Chalkwera and Chilima , Mtambo reminded that gathering that his short term goal is to end the presidency of Mutharika. He went further to say that in Dr Chakwera and Dr Chilima ,Malawi has a chance to have leaders that will unify the country, that will deliver development strategies that will liberate Malawi and are geared at putting Malawi on the path of greatness again
Also speaking at the event, the Diaspora leader for CFT Movement Linda Khembo Nwosu thanked the Tonse alliance for inviting Mtambo to address them . She said Mtambo is a fearless son of Malawi who has sacrificed it all to see Malawi liberated from the bondage of DPP regime . Khembo urged those in diaspora to get involved with the people power movement
The funds raise at the event will be sent to Malawi to help pay for the election Monitors . The event was patrionised by members of UTM, PP and other political parties who are part of the Tonse alliance
