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| Columns |
| My Diary |
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by
Steven Nhlane, 17 February 2007
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03:37:48
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That was not civil language Kaliati
13/02/07—It is my hope and prayer that by the end of this month, we should have a fully-constituted Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) in place. Ensuring there is a full house at the Commission is something the opposition in the country ought to do as a matter of urgency. We need a fully-fledged Commission to deal with the backlog of work that has piled up since the expiry of the tenure of office of six members. High on the Commission’s agenda should be the Local Government polls and the by-elections to fill vacant seats across the country.
The point I am making is that the opposition now have no excuse for rejecting the newly-appointed or reappointed commissioners because the President has followed the right procedure for their appointments. Of course, I am fully aware that it is not only the procedure to be followed that has to be correct. The opposition must also fully satisfy themselves with the credentials of the proposed people. For example, do they possess the right attributes to enable them to effectively and efficiently discharge the duties they are being appointed for?
But I hope the opposition will not use this just to frustrate the Commission. I also don’t expect the process to turn into another circus where a committee says someone is qualified for a job and but unsuitable for it, as the Public Appointments Committee (Pac) said about Anti-Corruption Bureau Acting Director Tumalisye Ndovi. What the this body has said about Ndovi’s appointment is a contradiction in terms, spirit as well as in the letter of rules and regulations governing the consultation process.
So, in the same way, I expect our opposition leaders who have been championing the need to hold local elections to see sense in putting into place an empowered electoral body that can make important decisions.
Talking about circuses and Pac’s vetting powers, I feel sorry for its chairman Joseph Njobvuyalema for being caught in a scuffle with the law which will inevitably not give him the publicity he needs as a lawmaker and an outspoken critic of government. But it is not what he did or did not do that I want to comment on. Rather, I want to talk about the remarks Information and Tourism Minister Patricia Kaliati—who calls me Alongosi (my brother) and whose respect I gracefully accept and will reciprocate—made about Njobvuyalema on MBC Radio 1 last Saturday morning.
I take it that as a senior member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and government spokesperson, my sister, whom I like for her openness, took it upon herself to defend her party. She said the DPP had played no role in the arrest of Njobvuyalema but that he is munthu woipa (he is a bad person). Ngakhale amayi kunyumba ali pamabvuto (even his wife is in trouble). Then came the most acidic statement which, being the good orator that my sister is, she reserved for the finale for effect: Mulungu adawalenga atatopa (God created Njobvuyalema when He was tired).
As I have already said, I respect my sister for her openness and for being media-friendly. Even when she does not have much to say about a media query, she will proffer something which will leave you not disappointed and make you feel she did not have a better thing to say.
I remember this other day she called me early in the morning and wanted to discuss a story we carried in this newspaper about which she had different views from those of the editor and that if she had her way, she would not have published it the way it came out.
As usual, she started by greeting me in the most friendly manner, “Mwauka uli alongosi? (Good morning brother?”). We talked for over 30 minutes as she tried to make me appreciate the merit in her point of view. She was very convivial. We parted at a point where both of us felt we needed to learn from each other.
Of course, I should admit that my sister is usually very crude in her language and also sounds very rude in radio and TV interviews, but I want to concede that as a speaker she is a winner.
But what she said about God having created Njovuyalema when He was tired was, in my view, going too far. It was an insult to Njovuyalema personally and his family. God is the Omnipotence and the All powerful, which means He does not get tired. He is at work and on top of things every second, minute, day, week, month and year. That is how he sustains life. In short, when you insult God, you insult all of us His believers. I am sure Alongosi will see sense in what I am saying and show remorse for what she said and do something about it. After all to err is human.
Talking about God, there is this ever-friendly politician of an opposition party who was telling one reporter (of course, in very low tones) that God was not helping them by giving the country good rains which have resulted or are poised to result in a second straight bumper harvest this year. I hope he was not speaking from deep down his heart.
—Feedback: stevenhlane@yahoo.co.uk |
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