Malawi: Political Commentator Mkutche Says Tonse Alliance Has Failed to Bring the Change It Promised
Political and social commentator Wonderful Mkhutche has said that Tonse Alliance not brought the change it had promised.
Mkutche was speaking after media put it to him to analyse how it has fared in the past four years.
“They were voted as an alliance, but four years down the line, the alliance is falling apart and this has also disappointed Malawians,” Mkhutche said.
The alliance initially had nine partners before others such as People’s Transformation Party withdrew from the deal, citing widespread governance shortfalls such as corruption.
However, key partners in the Tonse Alliance, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM, have provided varied assessments of how the alliance has performed since it was signed on March 19 2020 and got voted into power three months later.
The alliance was formed after the Constitutional Court had ordered a rerun of the 2019 presidential election following what it had described as widespread irregularities.
The signing of the alliance resulted in UTM leader Saulos Chilima partnering MCP’s Lazarus Chakwera at the election where the two emerged victorious.
While MCP states that the alliance has served its purpose in terms of serving Malawians, UTM is of the view that there have been challenges along the way.
MCP spokesperson Ezekiel Ching’oma claimed that development projects in the country have been shared evenly in all regions “despite occasional disagreements among our supporters on social media platforms”.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Ching’oma added that the agreement “does not extend beyond the specific period”, implying the future of the alliance may not go beyond the current government tenure.
“As we move forward, it is essential to reconvene and engage in constructive discussions to formulate a fresh agreement that encompasses all the parties we intend to collaborate with,” he said.
On his part, UTM spokesperson Felix Njawala noted that there have been some areas where the alliance has performed, but admitted there have been challenges too.
“Overall, there are concerns about the effectiveness of the alliance. However, we prefer not to delve into the reasons behind this failure at this time,” Njawala said in a brief response.
While People’s Party (PP) is of the view that the alliance has so far delivered its purpose, Alliance for Democracy (Aford) was coy to comment on any progress, saying everything ended after the election.
PP spokesperson Ackson Kalaile Banda said government has been able to address challenges that have appeared “along the way”.
“The Tonse Alliance Government has faced a lot of challenges and has not been able to fulfil some of its promises due to several factors such as Covid and other disasters,” Kalaile Banda said.
