One of the indicators of political underdevelopment is high levels of illiteracy. The illiteracy may fall in various angles such as politics or lack of technocrats in other professions namely education, health, media and agriculture among others.
The write up need to focus on political underdevelopment shedding light on politicians in Malawi. There is a disease in the country in which opposition Members of Parliament( MPs) are dumping their political parties to join the ruling party.
I don’t support the switching of MPs from their opposition parties to the ruling party which according to our constitution forms the government. The tendency weaken the progress of the country in various aspects. Of recent, a number of MPs and other well-known politicians have joined the parties forming the Tonse Alliance Government namely Malawi Congress and UTM.
Every political party has a specific political ideology that all its members are supposed to follow. Unnecessary switching of MPs from party A to party B disturbs political development in the country. Political development is characterized by strong and long term political philosophies.
The notion that ” Anthu akumudzi kwathu akuti ndigwile ntchito ndi chipani cholamula” defines why Malawi’s democracy is still immature. Where were your constituents before ?In developed countries such as United States, Britain and France there is political development. In United States you can’t see Democrats becoming Republicans or vice versa after elections. It is because most Americans are educated that make them to believe in the political philosophy they are supporting.
Republicans believe in their philosophy and they are always sure that their political affiliation is splendid so as the Democrats. Suppose American political landscape was as that of Malawi, United States would have not been an example of mature democracy in the world.
What is the essence of former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) MPs or United Democratic Front (UDF) switching to the political parties in the Tonse Alliance Government? It shows that our democracy is still underdeveloped. These MPs had their own ideologies in their former political parties. Are they planning to weaken the opposition muscle in the Parliament?
Go in United Kingdom and see if Liberals can join Conservatives or the vice versa after elections. The Liberalism is a political philosophy. Liberals generally support free markets, free trade, limited government, individual rights (including civil rights and human rights), capitalism, democracy, secularism, gender equality, racial equality and internationalism among others.
Conservatism is also a separate political philosophy. Conservatism promotes traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity.
In Malawi, our democracy will never grow if politicians will continue switching from party A to party B after elections. The country needs a strong political scope if we need to attain political development.
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