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(NYASA TIMES) DPP has ‘lost touch’ Kandodo admits

DPP has ‘lost touch’ Kandodo admits
By Nyasa Times
Published: June 28, 2011

Finance Minister Ken Kandodo has conceded that the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has lost touch with the public. The confension comes after DPP’s legal advisor and Henry Duncan Phoya (HDP) said the party has lost popularity since its landslide victory in 2009 due to enacting of repressive laws.

In an interview on Brian Banda’s popular Straight Talk programme aired on Capital FM Tuesday evening, Kandodo dignified Phoya’s claims that the government is losing popurality. Kandodo: We will correct things

However he said the DPP government can regain its ground by becoming more responsive to the public’s concerns.

“Of course we have problems. But there is sufficient time to turn things around. We are in 2011 now, next elections are in 2014. I do believe there is enough time to claw back,” said Kandodo.

The government’s purse keeper nonetheless said the DPP can win if elections were to be held.

“But even if we were to have an election this year, out party will come out as the largest party, on that I don’t have any doubt at all,” he said.

He admitted that people are disillusioned because of economic turmoil punctuated by fuel and forex shortages.

“When we have fuel cues obviously people will be complaining. So a party can lose some popularity,” he said, adding “DPP remains the most popular party. Whatever problems we have now can be corrected.”

Kandodo also told the radio that government were spending “sleepless nights” to solve the forex crunch.

“We are now spending sleepless nights within the government set up to find solutions to this forex problem,” he said.

He downplayed assertions that the forex shortage has come about due to aid freeze by the donor community, particularly Britain and German.

He said: “Tobacco season this year has proved to be the worse. Even if the UK were going to give us money as pledged it was going to be a difficult year, economically.”

The Finance Minister also denied claims that government is broke.

“Government is not broke in terms of implementing the budget,” he said. “In terms of paying civil servants we have been paying them.”

He said Malawi government did nothing wrong to warrant it lose British and German aid.

“Germans had an issue on homosexuality,” he pointed out, saying the German government wanted Malawi to respect minority rights including those of gays and lesbians.

“These are moral questions that we should not take it lightly,” he said.

On UK, he said President Bingu wa Mutharika expelled the British diplomat who criticised because “element of trust disappeared and it was difficult to sustain some kind of arrangement. There is not much wrong what government did.”

Kandodo said Malawi failed to complete the assessment under an Extended Credit Facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) because of i government’s refusal to devalue the Malawian kwacha.

“IMF asked us to devalue our currency,” he informed. He said the country needed to put all fiscal measures in place before devaluation.

“I am not saying devaluation is wrong, get me right.”

“We are very much aware of the risks we are facing on the economy.”

Asked if he was a competent to be the Finance Minister, he responded: “I am very competent. Those that I have worked with will tell you we have done what was necessary.”

And if he was excited with his job in the face of the current problems, he said: “I am excited in my job but of course one gets concerned to see fuel cues it’s not a sight that is pleasant to anybody and this why we are working very hard to resolving the problem.”

Kandodo explained during the interview that the Finance Minister’s job is a team effort.

“Even if you change minister of finance the government machinery has a set of procedures and systems that are there to support incoming minister of finance,” he said.

The Minister who presented the zero deficit budgets also said government has received assurance from donors to support Malawi on development and projects grants.—(Reporting by Thom Chiumia, Nyasa Times)

Tagged with: DPP, fuel shortage, IMF, Ken Kandodo

Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, DONORS, DPP, KEN KANDODO

posted by MrK @ 12:45 AM