By Burnett Munthali
The controversy surrounding President Lazarus Chakwera’s recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) has deepened, as a Member of Parliament from the area in question has come forward to clarify the president’s statements. The dispute arose when the Community Forum Organisation (COFO), a local group in Chikwawa, accused Chakwera of misleading the public by taking credit for the construction of a clinic that his administration did not build. However, MP Susan Dossi has stepped in to defend the president, arguing that his remarks were misinterpreted.
According to Dossi, the president was not referring to the clinic built by COFO when he claimed that a health post had already been constructed in the area. Instead, she insists that Chakwera was speaking about government plans to construct two separate health posts in Finiyasi and Liston. “The President said we have constructed. To me, maybe he meant we are done with the processes to construct the two health posts,” she explained.
Dossi’s defense, however, raises further questions about the accuracy of the president’s statement. In his SONA, Chakwera categorically stated that the government had already built a health post in Finiyasi and Liston. Yet, according to the MP herself, no such construction has taken place. Instead, she admits that the government plans to build these health posts in the coming months, estimating that they could be completed within six months.
This contradiction has only fueled further skepticism and frustration among Malawians, particularly those in Chikwawa, who feel that the president misled the nation about the actual status of healthcare development in their region. If the government has not yet constructed these health posts, why did the president say otherwise? And if he meant that the government had completed the processes necessary for construction to begin, why did he not state that clearly?
The clarification from Dossi, rather than resolving the matter, has instead confirmed what critics of the president have been arguing—that Chakwera’s SONA contained misleading information. It is one thing for a government to outline its future development plans, but it is entirely different to claim that a project has been completed when, in reality, it has not even begun.
COFO, which built the Chapananga clinic with funding from World Connect, remains firm in its stance that the president should not claim credit for projects he did not implement. Their frustration is shared by many civil society groups and opposition figures, who argue that Chakwera’s government has developed a habit of exaggerating its achievements while failing to address pressing economic and governance issues.
For many Malawians, this incident is not just about a health post in Chikwawa—it is about trust in the government. If the president can make inaccurate claims about a single development project, what does that say about other claims he made in his SONA? How many other projects that he listed as achievements have actually been completed? These are the critical questions that citizens are now asking.
Ultimately, Dossi’s attempt to defend Chakwera has inadvertently confirmed the very thing his critics were accusing him of: the president made a misleading statement. Whether this was a deliberate attempt to embellish his administration’s track record or simply a careless mistake, the damage has been done. Malawians are growing increasingly impatient with what they see as a government that talks more than it delivers, and incidents like these only deepen the public’s frustration.
If the government wants to restore credibility, it must be more transparent in its communication and ensure that statements made at the highest level of leadership reflect reality, not just political rhetoric. Until then, skepticism about the president’s words will only continue to grow.
