By Allan Nyasulu

Copyright mwnation

Just six days before Malawians go to the polls to choose the President, 229 members of Parliament and 509 ward councilors, our News Analyst LLOYD CHITSULO catches up with Alliance for Democracy (Aford) president Enoch Chihana to unpack its alliance with the Democratic Progressive Party. Excerpts:

Q:What gives you confidence that the Aford-DPP alliance will win Tuesday’s election?

A: We have designed a people-centred manifesto. We want to offer Malawians a real alternative, something different from what they have seen before. We believe that we must modernise agriculture, improve production efficiency, achieve food security and profitability for our farmers, all aimed at significantly enhancing agricultural productivity and guarantee food sovereignty. Under this administration, we will not buy fertiliser from a butchery. Therefore, expect a tight budget for fertiliser and Malawians will enjoy the cooperative system that we have designed for them.

Secondly, Malawians are going through a hell of an economy due to poor economic policies. However, this government is determined to bring about a manufacturing, mining, and tourism renaissance that will revitalise the industrial base and transform Malawi into a resilient, diversified and export-driven economy. This transformation will hinge on innovation, competitiveness, adaptability, enabling the nation to withstand global economic uncertainties and secure sustainable growth and inclusive wealth.

Q:There have been concerns from some Aford members that the alliance largely benefits DPP. What are some of the pivotal terms of the so-called blue alliance?

A: Our alliance has been very open. We have signed a document and it is in the public domain. Secondly, the alliance has not been formed to benefit Aford or DPP, but to bail out Malawians from the evil of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) that has unleashed on poor and innocent people. Imagine the poverty levels that have hit Malawians today. It is something I have never seen in my life. So, it is not about positions, but a call to serve my country with sacred responsibility and patriotism. Benefits or no benefit in the Cabinet, I will duly serve my country. That one is the altar vow before the nation. However, to put the issue into perspective, Aford has a 40 percent share in the pact.

The alliance has also been formed to stop Malawi from becoming a one-party state with the crackdown on the opposition as you may have seen a gale of defections from opposition parties seeking green pastures in the ruling Malawi Congress Party.

Q: Aford vice-president Timothy Mtambo publicly opposed this alliance. Have you really swayed away from your shared vision?

A: Aford brought democracy to this country and we are proud to be the champions of that league. The choice my brother Timothy Mtambo has made is not a crime at all. In fact, it must give many Malawians a sense that in Aford there is a pure democracy. Unlike other parties, we can allow someone who has decided not to be part of that journey, but still represent the same party at elections. He chose to differ with the position of the party and we moved on. That is the chemistry of democracy Aford is engineering in this country. Let other parties learn from us. Mtambo is a freedom fighter and I am a democrat, so our political mechanics are the same. Today, we share notes on issues that concern Malawi, not Mtambo and I. For your information, Mtambo is still vice–president of the party because he has not broken any provision of the party by disagreeing with the majority.

Q: What will happen to Aford and DPP should your alliance lose Tuesday’s presidential election?

A: In the first place, Aford and DPP will not lose the elections. That is the decision of Malawians because they are tired of the continued rising costs of living, soaring prices of fertiliser, nepotism, broken promises, lack of youth and women empowerment, hunger and poor infrastructure in rural areas, among others. The anger that people have in this country is too hot for MCP and President Chakwera to handle. In fact, they were supposed to resign from the government before the death of Vice-President Dr Saulosi Chilima in a plane crash on June 10 2024. So, the issue of losing an election is not in my DNA as we speak.

Q:Lastly, why should Malawians take you seriously, you and your allies in the DPP which was voted out in 2020?

A: As we speak, inflation rate is at 30 percent, making poor Malawians more miserable and the life for an average Malawian is dire as it erodes the disposable income.

The government of president Arthur Peter Mutharika will have no time to appease politicians, tolerate impunity, wasteful spending, corruption, nepotism and mismanagement. We are going to be your truest apostles baptised to change the trajectory of education by scrapping school fees for both primary and secondary schools and reducing examination fees, among others. We have come to secure the future of the nation. We have come to eradicate hunger, unleash infrastructure development across the nation and empower the youth and women, make the civil service and Anti-Corruption Bureau autonomous from any interference.