State House defends Mutharika’ long convoy: “President’s convoy cannot be described as 20 plus”-Mgeme

State House has come out of the cocoon to trash media reports indicating that President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika’s motorcade” is so long that government’s austerity measures are not working, saying the reports are not true.

On Friday last week Daily Times, carried an editorial indicating that “the number of vehicles on the President’s motorcade” is so long that Government’s austerity measures are not working.

The editorial, Daily Times advised the President to trim his convoy as promised in the 2014 DPP manifesto.

Reacting to the editorial, Presidential Press Officer Mgeme Kalilani said President’s convoy cannot be described as “20 plus” by any media institution that cares about truth.

“The President’s current convoy is often 12 vehicles. The standard convoy constitutes the President’s vehicle and its backup vehicle. There has to be a mobile clinic with medical equipment and nurses, a doctor’s vehicle, one vehicle for mechanics and the rest are security vehicles. However, the yellow journalism of Times tried to magnify this modest dozen-car convoy for an entire Head of State into hyperbolic imaginations simply to create hate in the hearts of loving Malawians.

“We kindly advise that Malawians are not interested in the campaign of hate and lies which Times is waging for its political masters and mistresses,” reads in part the statement.

Kalilani also trashed media reports indicating that most of the vehicles at Mutharika’s convoy are new, saying this is incorrect.

He further said that Mutharika is fully implementing the austerity measures as promised.

“We want to thank all Malawians who appreciate that President Peter Mutharika has gone out of his way to run this country on austerity measures in recovering the country from the shocking economic wreckage of Cashgate. Whereas Times is trying to blow out the dozen-car convoy, most sober-minded Malawians look at the bigger picture.

“We appreciate that unlike his predecessors, the President has for two good years avoided aeroplanes and helicopters in travelling across the country. These are part of Mutharika’s austerity measures to save the ailingeconomy. Most Malawians appreciate that Government’s austerity measures have worked in surviving the economy from a K536 billion deficit inherited in 2014, and through two years of natural disasters without donor budgetary support. There has never been a Government driven by austerity measures more than that of President Peter Mutharika,” added Kalilani.