As the people all over the world commemorate this day, Malawian journalists will as usual take to the streets in Blantyre carrying placards with various messages written on them. I would have joined them had it been that I was in Blantyre but am some 80km away and will be working the whole day. I respect and value this noble profession for the mere fact that they feed my growing appetite for information but I don’t envy their salaries or the environment that they work in.
The past year has been very interesting in relation to press freedom in Malawi. If you were in the shoes of the Nation Newspaper you should have been complaining of the advertisement ban from the government and its various departments which came along in that period. I guess you could have written a placard expressing your anger at the treatment your fellow journalists went through in trying to cover government events.
In the eyes of the newly born Weekend Times, you should have bemoaned how easy it was to expose scandals of high profile people. The freedom of writing whatever you found of other people’s lives could have been on your lips all the way to the end of the big walk. If you were Brian Banda you could have thanked all the people who have graced your latest program, Capital Straight Talk. Some questions you asked are sensitive but you forced your way to get the answers. Big fish from both sides of the coin have been your guests. Sad that the drycleaner is not here to join his brother, Paparazi, Makiyolobasi, Twister and Bartender in displaying linen they have been trying to clean all this time.
From a layman’s point of view, we are still enjoying the freedom of expression we voted for in 1994 but there are some areas we can do better. The public broadcasters are still singing praises to the government of the day just as it was with the past regimes. It shows that journalists working in these media houses are not yet free to write or report what they want to (or have they been brainwashed to the point that they don’t see anything newsworthy in the opposing views). Some time there was talk that changing the Communications Act was the only way of making sure that every party will be heard on the public broadcaster. There is no better time to debate and pass the Access to Information bill and change the Communications Act than now when the ruling party has a majority in Parliament.
By the end of the day after a tiresome walk, there will be a dance at Mount Soche Hotel where outstanding journalists will be awarded for their good work. As consumers of the information they report, we don’t have much say on the awards but if I were given a chance I could have chosen Brian Banda and his Capital Straight Talk as the best thing that has happened to the media fraternity the past year. The questions asked in the program are superb, the guests interviewed are at the thick of things and the reporter is just very good. Then there is the Sunday Times. It is a full package that Malawians in need of information needs to read. Muckraking on Sunday, Just a word, Hard Tackle, Wings of Hope, Oped and True Life drama are simply the best. Maybe Zebedee is too old to be getting praises but he is still giving out the best.
Finally I wish all the media guys a very good day in celebrating press freedom. But don’t get very drunk to miss stories for tomorrow’s front pages.
Showing posts with label BBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
PRESIDENT FOR A DAY
Throughout the month of February, BBC World Service is giving a chance to its African listeners a chance to present a presidential inaugural address. These addresses are aired daily on their Network Africa programmes. As an avid listener of this program i sent out my speech and i thought of publishing it on this blog. Read it below:
PRESIDENT FOR A DAY
REBUILDING MALAWI
Let me start by thanking all the people who voted for me to this position of President of the Republic of Malawi. It was not an easy thing to compete with all the candidates who gave out a spirited challenge. In the same breath I would like to extend my invitation to all the losing candidates to join me in leading Malawi for the next five years. I have read all the manifestos you presented during campaign and there are several things which when added to our manifesto will help the people of Malawi. I have delayed in choosing my cabinet waiting for the response from the other presidential aspirants and their parties. It is for our benefit as Malawians. United we stand divided we fall!!
I have titled my speech”Rebuilding Malawi” simply because that is the only thing that we can do to make it a better place to live. Our country is in ruins because of the type of leadership we have had in the past years. There is a problem with our economy. Yes, we are making strides on paper but people are still suffering in the villages. Our education system is in tatters and needs to be attended if we are to build a better Malawi. I know that most of the people gracing this inaugural ceremony are unemployed; I will work to create more jobs.
As a country we have a lot of resources which, if shared properly, can be enough for everyone. The first step to make this a reality is to limit the amount of allowances given to public servants. Imagine a President is at liberty to have millions and millions of Kwachas in bank accounts at the expense of a farmer in Nsanje. Ministers, Members of Parliament and Principal Secretaries are driving posh vehicles disregarding the people they are supposed to serve. I seek to end this!! I know there some who are hard working and deserve to have riches but there are others who are just abusing taxpayer’s money. They are where they are because of your votes and taxes while you are still suffering!!
When a person has basic needs in life and is happy that’s when we can involve him in developmental activities. We will only talk of infrastructure development when we share the national cake equally. When every home is able to feed itself, send children to school and have a good house. You all pay tax in one way or another so you should enjoy being a Malawian and using Malawian resources. When choosing my cabinet, I will look for people who are selfless, who are prepared to lead and not to be worshipped. I need people who will be on the ground to understand people’s problems and find a way to sort them.
In rebuilding Malawi we need good roads, railways and a thriving water transport. We don’t have time to waste and every minute, every person (ruling or opposition) counts. As long as you are a Malawian we need you, your ideas and any type of contribution you can make. You have been ignored for too long and now time has come to take part in rebuilding Malawi to your satisfaction. We have wise people in the villages that have been sidelined simply because they had no resources to compete with the rich in elections. We need you now!!
I also want to find an alternative to our economy’s reliance on agriculture. As much as we are proud of being farmers, little progress is made to our economy. Our forefathers used to farm on the same land we are using now but only a few things developed. We are going the same route that the previous regimes had stumbled. They had to rely on the rain pattern and prices of our farm produce. Do we have to make the same mistake? NO!! There is a lot we can do to earn foreign currency, technology for instance. My fellow Malawians things are changing; people are making a lot of money out of technology. If we embrace technology we can make a lot of money for the country. We need to teach our children right from the nursery school through to the colleges. Only then will we be able to find foreign currency using others means apart from agriculture.
In closing I would like to remind you that together we can build a better Malawi. My presidency is your presidency, be proud of it. At the end of the day it is all of us (Malawians) who will be winners and we will retire happily knowing that we have secured a future for the coming generations.…..VIVA MALAWI
PRESIDENT FOR A DAY
REBUILDING MALAWI
Let me start by thanking all the people who voted for me to this position of President of the Republic of Malawi. It was not an easy thing to compete with all the candidates who gave out a spirited challenge. In the same breath I would like to extend my invitation to all the losing candidates to join me in leading Malawi for the next five years. I have read all the manifestos you presented during campaign and there are several things which when added to our manifesto will help the people of Malawi. I have delayed in choosing my cabinet waiting for the response from the other presidential aspirants and their parties. It is for our benefit as Malawians. United we stand divided we fall!!
I have titled my speech”Rebuilding Malawi” simply because that is the only thing that we can do to make it a better place to live. Our country is in ruins because of the type of leadership we have had in the past years. There is a problem with our economy. Yes, we are making strides on paper but people are still suffering in the villages. Our education system is in tatters and needs to be attended if we are to build a better Malawi. I know that most of the people gracing this inaugural ceremony are unemployed; I will work to create more jobs.
As a country we have a lot of resources which, if shared properly, can be enough for everyone. The first step to make this a reality is to limit the amount of allowances given to public servants. Imagine a President is at liberty to have millions and millions of Kwachas in bank accounts at the expense of a farmer in Nsanje. Ministers, Members of Parliament and Principal Secretaries are driving posh vehicles disregarding the people they are supposed to serve. I seek to end this!! I know there some who are hard working and deserve to have riches but there are others who are just abusing taxpayer’s money. They are where they are because of your votes and taxes while you are still suffering!!
When a person has basic needs in life and is happy that’s when we can involve him in developmental activities. We will only talk of infrastructure development when we share the national cake equally. When every home is able to feed itself, send children to school and have a good house. You all pay tax in one way or another so you should enjoy being a Malawian and using Malawian resources. When choosing my cabinet, I will look for people who are selfless, who are prepared to lead and not to be worshipped. I need people who will be on the ground to understand people’s problems and find a way to sort them.
In rebuilding Malawi we need good roads, railways and a thriving water transport. We don’t have time to waste and every minute, every person (ruling or opposition) counts. As long as you are a Malawian we need you, your ideas and any type of contribution you can make. You have been ignored for too long and now time has come to take part in rebuilding Malawi to your satisfaction. We have wise people in the villages that have been sidelined simply because they had no resources to compete with the rich in elections. We need you now!!
I also want to find an alternative to our economy’s reliance on agriculture. As much as we are proud of being farmers, little progress is made to our economy. Our forefathers used to farm on the same land we are using now but only a few things developed. We are going the same route that the previous regimes had stumbled. They had to rely on the rain pattern and prices of our farm produce. Do we have to make the same mistake? NO!! There is a lot we can do to earn foreign currency, technology for instance. My fellow Malawians things are changing; people are making a lot of money out of technology. If we embrace technology we can make a lot of money for the country. We need to teach our children right from the nursery school through to the colleges. Only then will we be able to find foreign currency using others means apart from agriculture.
In closing I would like to remind you that together we can build a better Malawi. My presidency is your presidency, be proud of it. At the end of the day it is all of us (Malawians) who will be winners and we will retire happily knowing that we have secured a future for the coming generations.…..VIVA MALAWI
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