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| Columns |
| My Diary |
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by
Steve Nhlane, 21 January 2006
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03:18:37
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Rest ye in peace Rankin, feedback
My condolences go to the Nyekanyeka family on the untimely loss of their son, brother, father, uncle, cousin, breadwinner and mentor Rankin on Monday this week in Blantyre.
As a longtime colleague, I will remember Rankin for his cool and sober approach to issues, always putting in a lot of thought before saying something, lest he offends someone; never openly showing his anger even when clearly rubbed the wrong way; and always focused on issues. Never too loud and even if he were on the right side of an argument, he would not jump and up down like most of us do to get the attention of other people around. The media fraternity has lost a useful man. May his soul rest in peace.
Excerpts from recent feedback from Diary readers
Commendable work
Steve, Edward and the man [why do you think it’s a man?] on the back-bench. Hello, my fellow citizens. Just how long will it take for Malawian politicians to stop playing with people’s lives and emotions; when will these money and/or power hungry politicians realise that their role is to serve the interest of the larger population of Malawi? You do not need much education to realise that Maxwell Milanzi has decided what you’ve already discussed simply because:
1) He sees no future for the once mighty UDF.
2) He knows quite well that the tit-for-tat tactic that Mutharika has launched will see him either completely out of politics and/or behind bars for some time. He knows dropping the impeachment motion will save him from a lot of problems.
Sam.
100 percent right
Dear Steve,
I agree 100 percent with your analysis of political events currently prevailing in Malawi, the warm heart of Africa. In a true democracy, we need a strong opposition to keep guarding the executive. However, opposition leaders (JZU and BM) themselves are to blame for the massive defections they are about to face now or in the near future. From the word go, opposition leaders underrated Mutharika's political intelligence when he dumped UDF. They thought he was so dull to imagine he could rule without a party. He is just showing them how much he knows about African politics. By the way, where is Aford?
Eliam—Leicester, United Kingdom.
Eliam,
What I can tell you is that Aford is still around although it has dwindled from 36 MPs during the days when Aford was Aford to only two now in the name of Chakufwa Tom Chihana and his niece Loveness Gondwe. But ironically, with these two legislators, the party is still getting Parliamentary funding despite that other parties with bigger representation such as PPM and, DPP and are getting nothing. So on that score, Aford is still a force to be reckoned with.
Steven
Dear Steven,
I keenly follow your news analyses. I must commend you for the fantastic job of analysing sociopolitical events in Malawi. Please keep it up.
Charles Chingwalu, Scotland, UK.
Hi Mr Nhlane,
I was reading 'My Diary' on-line just an hour ago and I’ve been asking myself why Malawian politicians do not think along those lines. It hurts me to see how unfortunate Malawi is to have such type of politicians, selfish and without any vision at all. Your articles are always brilliant and this one [The wanimanyenge syndrome] is just one of them.
I’m really inspired by your writing but I don’t know why our politicians who can read and write fail to spend just 30 minutes to read and reflect on articles like these. I strongly believe that a good leader is the one who is open to new ideas. Let’s hope that in this year 2006, politicians will be more open to ideas for the good of Malawians.
Sungani.
Hie Steven,
I read your Diary, it is cool, keep it up. This is straight talk. I know that truth hurts but tell them the truth. We need people like de Klerk, or a Gorbachev to lead Malawi nation above petty politics.
Thank you.
George.
Thank you all for your feedback whether by phone, sms, e-mail or when we meet in the streets or at church. I get more inspired when people come back to me and tell me how they feel about what I write. You do not have to agree with me and I do not expect you to do so.
By the way, when I said in the last issue of the Diary that Bingu wa Mutharika should only be allowed to get a simple majority in Parliament to enable him to pass necessary legislation, I did not mean he should acquire this numerical strength through the backdoor. Thank you madam caller for your query.
Steven.
––Feedback:stevenhlane@yahoo.co.uk
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