Maravi

(NYASATIMES) Malawi needs more than ‘fresh generation of leaders’

Malawi needs more than ‘fresh generation of leaders’
By Nyasa Times
Published: November 17, 2010

Africa is a home to some of the oldest leaders in the world, from Robert Mugabe in the South to Hosni Mubarak in the North. Malawi is among this flock of ageing rulers. Its leader, Bingu wa Mutharika is 76 years old and the country’s opposition leader, John Tembo is 78 years old. These two leaders belong to minority group of over 65 year olds that comprise only five percent of the nation’s estimated 14 million inhabitants.

John Tembo has made it clear that he intends to run for the presidency in 2014 – he will be 82. And there are high chances that his main competitor will be Mutharika’s younger brother, Peter – he will be 74 years old. There has been some discomfort about the ageing leadership among younger Malawians for some time. Tom Likambale, a Malawian political commentator, thinks that the best way of taming the situation is to encourage new generation of political leaders. Likambale has published an online a ‘petition’ entitled “Seeking a Change Agenda for Malawi via a Fresh Generation of Leaders.”

The ‘petition’ is, however, not an open invitation to all young Malawian politicians; it is an ‘urge’ to Atupele Muluzi – a 32 years old parliamentarian and a son of Malawi’s former president, Bakili Muluzi. Likambale wants Atupele to consider running for the presidency in 2014. His reasons for the choice of Atupele include the fact he is young, of course. But also, using the pronoun “we”, Likambale says Atupele understands the tenets of democracy, and that he is experienced enough for the job. He has a point – Atupele would be more experienced in 2014 than Barak Obama and David Cameron were when they assumed leadership of their respective countries.

Atupele Austin Muluzi

The ‘petition’, though no doubt well intentioned, is a very good example of what is wrong with Malawian democracy: there is too much emphasis on the individual. Leaders are not chosen on the strength or weakness of their policies at both national and party levels. It is who you are, how much money you have, and what political party(s) sponsors you that gets people elected.

Obama and Cameron may have spent less time in the political chambers of their respective countries than Atupele, come 2014, but then Obama and Cameron had policies. They individually stood up, presented their policies and the electorate elected them based on their policies. Electorates of these two countries rightly expect their leaders to fullfill their electoral pledges. This has never been the case in Malawi and this ‘petition’ is proposing a repetition of the status quo.

Getting rid of the ageing leadership is definitely a forwarding thinking idea, Likambale deserves kudos for starting the debate. But what is needed is to encourage a politics where elections will be won or lost over policy issues, not glorification of individuals – young or old. If age is the most pertinent issue affecting our democracy (and there is no evidence on this) why not campaign for a presidential retirement age? History reminds us that Atupele’s father, Bakili Muluzi, was 51 years old when he came to power. He did his ten years, via re-election, then hand-picked and campaigned tirelessly for 71 years old Bingu wa Mutharika for presidency. This was clearly undemocratic – United Democratic Front (UDF) members did not chose Mutharika, Bakili did. Bakili had become too popular that his followers could not question his decision. This is what personalising politics can do.

You can fool some people sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the times, so they say. Sure, a few people within the party disagreed with Muluzi’s undemocratic act, most notably the late Aleke Banda and Justine Malewezi, who both deserted the UDF. Ironically, the late Banda and Malewezi are today held in very high esteem by many Malawians.

The departure of these two members and Mutharika’s candidature marked the beginning of the fall of the UDF. Today the party is only a shadow of the giant it once was. I am not trying to compare Atupele with his father; they are very different characters, the intervening years have shown that. The point is, if Malawi is to catch-up with the international community on how it conducts its politics, as the ‘petition’ wishes, then Atupele must come forward with his policies, win the confidence and endorsement of his party’s members and present himself as the 2014 presidential candidate. Being young is a good attribute but this alone is not enough. After all, there are a lot of young Malawians that will be 36 years old in 2014.Why Atupele? His polices must answer to this.

Such a process would give any aspirant a foundation to build on. It would also tremendously improve one’s chance of winning elections. This would not only be beneficial to individuals, but the country as well. It would also help make leaders more accountable to the electorate. This is unlikely to be the case when one is being elevated as charismatic and the only one, without necessarily having to prove it. Sociologist Max Weber warned of the dangers of having charismatic leaders. He noticed that charismatic leaders are difficult, if not impossible to succeed. They are unpredictable and they tend to become autocrats. True to this word, UDF has not truly replaced Bakili, as a leader. On the other hand, Bakili’s handpicked successor, Mutharika is increasingly becoming autocratic, as the ‘petition’ and the recent Catholic Bishop’s Letter would attest.

PLEASE NOTE: I have used names Bakili and Atupele not Muluzi to avoid confusion, as they are father and son.

*The author Jimmy Kainja allowed Nyasa Times to use this article posted on his website : http://jimmykainja.co.uk/

Labels: ATUPELE MULUZI, BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, LEADERSHIP

posted by MrK @ 4:36 AM