The Centre of Democracy and Development Initiatives (CDEDI), has announced the nationwide peaceful demonstrations starting with the City of Lilongwe on Wednesday, 16th December, 2020, following the expiry of the ultimatum it gave to President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to respond to many challenges that are rocking the country.
CDEDI says the petition will be delivered to the country’s president, Dr. Chakwera through the City’s Chief Executive Officer, saying the peaceful demonstrations will then spill over to the cities of Blantyre and Mzuzu, further details on the route that will be taken, and the time for the peaceful demonstrations will be announced in due course.
The organization and the Lilongwe Small Scale Business Operators will lead all well –meaning Malawians in exercising their right to conduct peaceful demonstrations to demand answers and explanations from President Dr. Chakwera and his Administration.
In a statement dated 9th December, 2020 signed by Sylvester Namiwa with the subject; A listening Government that never was, we say No to impunity and Executive arrogance, CDEDI has highlighted 12 issues that Malawians will demand answers and explanations from President Chakwera and his Tonse Alliance Administration through peaceful demonstrations.
CDEDI says the influx of illegal immigrants who are illegally conducting businesses in the country taking up economic opportunities for the locals, the shambolic Affordable Input Programme (AIP), Government selective application of justice, are haunting Malawians.
“Failure by the president to update Malawians on the Crossroads Hotel bills saga, president’s failure to honour his promise to produce expenditure report on the Independence celebrations that were cancelled at the eleventh hour, the NOCMA fuel supply tender saga, the doubling of MPs and councilors, and many others, are the reasons to take to the streets to demand answers and explanations,’’reads part of a statement.
CDEDI says although it is aware that all the campaign promises cannot be funded in one financial year, it is an expectation and that of many Malawians of good will that President Dr. Chakwera would have come out very clearly to explain what would happen to some of the deferred Tonse Alliance campaign promises before Malawians conclude that he is a liar.
The organization says Malawians are now living in fear, while others are beginning to think that the country is slowly sliding back to the one –party era where arrests and political persecution were the order of the day.
It is challenging President Dr. Chakwera and his Tonse Alliance Administration not to take the route of giving false promises just to fool the voters.
