Nankhumwa blasts Chakwera for likening himself to traffic officer

Leader of Opposition, Kondwani Nankhumwa has described the remarks by President Lazarus Chakwera that his job is not to lead the country, as disturbing and hopeless.

Chakwera made the remarks when he was officially opening Conference on Separation of Powers which is currently underway in Lilongwe.

In his remarks Chakwera said the job of a President is closer to a traffic officer who controls the flow of traffic but has no control over the vehicles on the road.

“Then there are those who try to intimidate me and threaten me because they don’t agree with a government policy that I know is right for the country, as if they don’t know that the oath I took had me swear to fulfill the functions of my office without fear.

“Then there are those who advise me to use the powers of my office to grind an axe against people who criticize me or speak ill of me and to reward those who flatter me, as if they did not hear me swear three years ago that I would fulfill the functions of my office without affection or ill-will,” said Chakwera.

But Nankhumwa has described Chakwera’s remarks as disturbing.

“The President is the Chief Executive Officer of Malawi. He is the Head of State and Head of Government of Malawi, and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Forces. He is the First Citizen responsible for running the affairs of this country. He is the driver.

“The President’s line of reasoning is therefore deeply flawed, to say the least. It is also my considered opinion that President Chakwera has no clue about what it means to be a leader of 20 million Malawians,” said Nankhumwa.

Meanwhile, Nankhumwa has urged Chakwera to instill hope and confidence to Malawians that he is in control.