Mkaka describes Chilima’s Hard Talk interview on BBC as a missed opportunity

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Secretary General Eisenhower Mkaka has accused the country’s vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima of dodging critical issues rocking the country during Hard Talk interview on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a programmed hosted by Zeinab Badawi.

Chilima’s interview has taken the social media by storm with many criticizing especially Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cadets accusing him of being flop.

Writing on his official facebook page, Mkaka said Chilima’s handling of some questions posed to him clearly shows he was unprepared.

“I have listened to the BBC Hardtalk interview. It was like eating rice mixed with sand. Vice President Saulos Chilima went woefully unprepared. Not a single question they asked him was new, but he fumbled big time. Was he star-struck by Zeinab Badawi perhaps?

“Badawi was condescending from the introduction. He called our country “small.” Yet Malawi is bigger than seven countries in Europe combined. At 118,000 sq. km, you can combine Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco and The Vatican, and still have space to fit in Singapore. The Vice President missed an opportunity to seize the momentum by challenging her on that,” wrote Mkaka.

He added: “Then came the questions. Why do you want to contest against the leader of a government of which you are part? Answer: It is my constitutional right.

“Really? Was that the best he could manage? Come on, every standard five pupil knows that already. One would have thought he would mention the K145 million, but no. In the entire 24 minutes, he did not mention hard facts about the rampant corruption. He only repeated a few platitudes here and there, and when you throw platitudes at Badawi, you are toast.

“I could go on and on, but there is not a single question he answered with the gravitas of a person running for president. For a moment, I thought Patricia Kaliati could have done a better job. Or Manganya perhaps. Or even the Speaker.”

He further wrote: “Unfortunately, as they say, there is no second chance for the first impression. This was a big opportunity and he blew it.
“It is not for nothing that this program is called Hardtalk. Presenter comes hard and you too must come hard. You do not go to such interviews the way you would go to an interview by a community radio at Kaigwazanga in Mchinji. You come prepared. Or, as some have said, you do not come to a gunfight with a catapult.”

Meanwhile debate continues on the matter.