Malawi Congress Party Law Maker for Lilongwe North Maxwell Thyolera last month stood up in Parliament where he highlighted a number of good things that the party did when it was in power 30 years ago.
On the several positive things which he said is that the nation always had food during the reign of power under the leadership of the former head of state the late Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
However, in his interjection Independent Member of Parliament for Lilongwe City Centre David Bisnowaty said during the one party era, it was difficult to ascertain whether people were experiencing hunger, since that negative fact could not be publicized by the affected people for fear of victimization by the authorities.
Bisnowaty added that the leadership then abused national resources by building palaces and state houses instead of channeling the funds to developing irrigation, which could ensured food sufficiency in the country.
This did not go well with MCP Dedza north legislator together with other MCP’s legislators who branded Bisnowaty as a ‘foreigner’ and a ‘Jew’, apart from the racial slurs and jibes they also described him as a failed politician who should relocate to Israel.
The MCP’s law makers ought to know that we are living in a democracy where everyone is freely to express his or her views without fear or intimidation provided if he or she does not violate the rights of others and this is also guaranteed in the Republic Constitution of Malawi under section 35.
Everyone is regarded as a citizen of Malawi provided if he or she fulfills the conditions like staying in the country for a period of not less than seven years.
Racial remarks against anyone because of color, race, tribe or region will only dent the image of the country within and abroad as the Warm Heart of Africa.
Unity is what needs to be promoted if the country is to develop socially, politically and economically and everyone should not be afraid to give constructive criticism for fear of being intimidated because we can only improve when we realizes our mistakes.
The Lilongwe city centre legislator was not wrong to say that the country also experienced hunger during the Kamuzu era as maize was imported from United States of America to contain the hunger crisis during that time.
The only problem with politicians is that they do not want to hear bad things against them as opposed to positive ones even if they do wrong things.
We don’t want Malawi to be like what South Africa was during the apartheid era when black people were buying in black shops likewise the whites.
The same way in Europe where black people who play in various clubs are racially abused. Gone are days where a person should be taken as a Malawian because of color, appearance, language or race because there are many people of different colors who have stayed in Malawi for so long and some have even born and grew up here and they speak the vernacular language Chewa.
However, it is good to hear that MCP Leader Dr Lazarus Chakwera has described racist remarks by Dedza north MP as demeaning.
