Chris Daza, President of the now defunct Democratic People’s Congress -DEPECO, has joined the Democratic Progressive Party-DPP.

He is confident the DPP is poised to register “another” victory in the coming fresh presidential election.

Democratic People’s Congress (DEPECO) President Dr. Chris Daza has pulled of the forthcoming May 21 tripartite election.

Daza who once served as Minister of Information under the reign of former President Dr. Joyce Banda confirmed of the development in an interview with state-controlled Malawi Broadcasting Station (MBC).

The Party has since endorsed Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Daza said Mutharika deserves tenure of office to continue transforming the nation.

More details to come….

As the day draws near for the country to hold its second tripartite election, Democratic Peoples Congress (DePeCo) is scheduled to hold its convention on June 19, 2018.

This has been disclosed in a statement released by DePeCo President Chris Daza who once served as Minister of State responsible for Governance under former President Dr. Joyce Banda.

In the statement Daza also announced the nullification of all National Executive Committee (NEC) positions.

“May we take this opportunity to quietly contemplate and appreciate the extreme sacrifice selflessly made by our old National Executive Committee (NEC), including the Director of Public Relations and Communications, Mr Kelvin Sulugwe, as we nullify all the parties’ positions and declare ‘they have ceased to exist” with immediate effect.

“We therefore also disassociate with intentions and misconduct of the Mr Kelvin Sulugwe for obtaining an injunction ahead of our convention,” reads in part the statement.

He added: “However, DEPECO will hold a convention on 19th June 2018 to officially elect and appoint its presidential aspirant and all the committees which were changed unconstitutionally.”

Interim President for the newly registered Democratic People’s Congress, shortened as ‘DePeCo’ Chris Daza has come out of his cocoon and said he has approached Prophet Shepherd Bushiri of Enlighten Christian Gathering (ECG) church to join the party.

Daza disclosed this in a press briefing held on Sunday in the capital Lilongwe attended by faceofmalawi reporter.

In his speech, Daza urged Malawians across the country to give his party chance to rule the country in the 2019 general election, saying the party is the only hope for Malawians.

He also disclosed that many members from other political party both local and International have expressed interest to join the party but denied to disclose the names.

When asked to comment on the rumours that DEPECO party is owned by Prophet Bushiri, Daza trashed the rumours.

He said Bushiri is his best friend and spiritual father.

He also informed the reporters that he has approached Bushiri to join the party but is yet to respond on the call.

The State House, renamed to Kamuzu Palace, in Lilongwe last night was a sight of ugly scenes when Peoples’ Party (PP) executive members fought over the issue of President Joyce Banda’s running mate in the May tripartite elections.

According to sources, delegates to the meeting that had been tasked to come up with a name of a person who will pair with Joyce Banda in the elections failed to do their job and instead the meeting descended into chaos with name calling and near fists being used at the end of it all.

President Banda’s choice of running mate appeared to have been a long term put to a rest issue when he settled for Khumbo Kachali as her deputy at the death of Mutharika and her ascension to power. However, it was the mistakes that Kachali made when Vice President that threw her out of favour with the party hierarchy and people started positioning themselves for the post of running mate.

According to the reports, for fear of breaking the party, Banda had mandated the executive of the party to choose a running mate for her and it had been at that meeting that the chaos ensued as the delegates failed to reach a proper consensus on who is to partner with Banda.

Some of the names that were put forward to partner with Banda include that of the Minister of Information, Evangelist Brown Mpinganjira, Minister of Good Governance, Chris Daza, Minister of transport, Sidik Mia, while others wanted to maintain the status quo of having Banda and Kachali on the ballot claiming that Malawians have forgotten the Mponela bed-scandal and the rude remarks of the Veep as well as the purported links he has to the Cash-gate scandal and would, therefore, vote for him.

It is not known whether the party will meet again to settle the Vice Presidency question or it will be left to Banda to make a personal decision.

An emergency NEC meeting of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) ended without the party managing to replace ex-secretary general Chris Daza who defected to the ruling Peoples’ Party, party spokesperson Jessie Kabwila has confirmed.

According to Kabwila, the party had very pressing issues to discuss than the replacement of the Secretary General. One of such issues being the preparations for the fundraising Tambala night to be held soon.

Kabwila further said that the party currently relies on the services of the deputy Secretary General who is acting like the Secretary General.

Critics have, however, slammed MCP saying it is impossible for the party to just claim that the issue of the replacement of a party SG is a simple issue and not pressing.

Malawi Congress Party lost its Secretary General, Chris Daza, who had for long been aspiring to be the President of the party. He defected to the ruling Peoples’ Party. Soon after his defection, he was made the Minister of Good Governance.

Former Malawi congress Party (MCP) President, John Zenus Ungapake Tembo, has come out to speak on the defections that have hit his party of late.

Tembo was speaking to a local radio station and he described all the defectors as cowards and failures.

Tembo, accused then of blocking the ex SG of the party Chris Daza who has since moved to PP, said that the people who have defected were never MCP and were only pretending to be of the party; thus, their defections.

The veteran politician who announced that he will be completely quitting active politics come next year also dismissed reports that circulated over the weekend that he is the next person to quit MCP and go to PP.

Despite the massive exodus that has hit his party, Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera has said that his party is bound to resurrect from the dead like did Lazarus of the Bible.

Speaking in an interview to a local station, Chakwera said that the party might be hit by exodus and defections but what remained was that the party was still going to remain firm and get back into government.

“I am Lazarus and I am saying that like Lazarus (referring to that of the Bible), MCP will resurrect and lead Malawi once again,” said Chakwera.

In the same programme, Chakwera disclosed that he met with investors in the US and RSA who are willing to come to Malawi once  MCP takes over government with him at the helm.

Recently, the party has seen its old and executive members defecting from the party into other camps with the most prominent being the SG of the party Chris Daza who defected to PP.

Trouble is brewing in the ruling Peoples’ Party with the recent appointment of Chris Daza as the new minister of good governance just after hours after he had defected to the party from opposition Malawi Congress Party.

Information sourced indicates that some old guards in the party are apparently incensed with the appointment and feel betrayed. The anger has been more fueled with the reports that the President is considering Daza as her running mate in the 2014 tripartite elections.

It has been alleged that President Banda has opted for Daza as a running mate so that she garners support from the Central region where Daza comes from so as to weaken the strength of the MCP in the region and steal some votes from Chakwera and thereby strengthening her own base.

The running mate of the PP Presidency has been associated with many names especially in view of the fact that people have already thought that current Vice President Khumbo Kachali will not be considered for the post.

Barely a day after announcing that he has defected from the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to the ruling Peoples’ Party (PP), ex-secretary general of the MCP has been awarded a ministerial post.

Last night the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) annnounced that the President had appointed Chris Daza who was the MCP General Secretary as the new minister in the office of the President responsible for good governance.

The newly established ministry had been established after the reshuffle of the cabinet by President Banda in light of the Capitol Hill looting. The ministry had been given to the late Eunice Kazembe who had died without taking an oath for the office as she had been ill.

The place of the late Kazembe has now been awarded to Daza.

President Banda has also appointed spent force Gwanda Chakuamba and Katola Phiri as special advisers to her on political affairs.

Ruling Peoples’ Party has today officially unveiled documented spent force Gwanda Chakuamba and former Secretary General for the Malawi Congress Party, Chris Daza.

The unveiling has happened in Ntchisi where President Banda is with her official duties of elevating a chief.

At the event, the President has unveiled the two plus one Katola Phiri as the people who have recently joined the ruling Peoples’ Party.

Malawi Congress Party stalwart who took former President John Tembo head on when others were afraid to and was voted as the party’s Secretary General at the party convention has resigned, FaceofMalawi understands.

According to the information we have on our hands, Daza who also tumbled on the seat of Presidency to Lazarus Chakwera has resigned to make his next move at Joyce Banda’s Peoples’ Party amidst a crisis that is hitting at the National Executive of the party.

Some sources have disclosed that Joyce Banda has promised Daza to be her running mate in the 2014 tripartite elections and that is the bright light that has attracted Daza to PP.

Meanwhile, reports have also indicated that an old guard for the party, Joseph Njobvuyalema, is set to quit the party. However, Njobvuyalema speaking to a local radio station yesterday dismissed the rumours.

Three out of eight aspirants for the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidency on Friday battled it out in a public debate, with most of them focusing on the need to realign government policies with “foundational” structures MCP laid in sectors such as agriculture before it went out of power in 1994.

But the three—Malawi Assemblies of God president the Reverend Dr Lazarus Chakwera, former Cabinet minister Jodder Kanjere and former Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) president Felix Jumbe—differed on wealth creation and poverty alleviation.

Apart from politicians from different parties, the debate, organised by Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, attracted a diverse audience, including members of the civil society, faith community, private sector, public service, media and ordinary citizens.

All the three aspirants said MCP’s four cornerstones of unity, loyalty, discipline and obedience are still relevant in the current democratic dispensation.

Jumbe said his farming background makes him the best candidate to revive the country’s agriculture sector by boosting the capacity of farmers to increase their production.

“I have 49 years of experience in farming. You cannot learn how to swim if you have never swum. So many people have theories about agriculture, but they have never farmed.

“I am more relevant to the current situation because of my exposure to agriculture than any of the candidates that are competing with me,” said Jumbe, who said government needs to reverse the policy focus from poverty alleviation to wealth creation.

He said wealth creation is key to addressing all problems Malawi is facing in different sectors such as education and health.

“We first need to save from what we have. The systems are not working. We need to address the losses and overheads in the systems. If I become president, we are looking at having a Cabinet of only 15 ministers,” said Jumbe.

Kanjere said his experience in running government as a former top civil servant and Cabinet minister would help move the masses out of poverty, saying he would strictly enforce fiscal discipline in government.

“We need to instil fiscal discipline to the level where ordinary people understand it. You cannot achieve anything without discipline. As president, I will show you how to do it,” said Kanjere.

He also said there is need for competent people to hold critical positions in government to address inefficiencies and irregularities on issues such as land administration.

“MCP policies are people-centred. We will always focus on what is collective contribution in our economic planning,” said Kanjere.

Chakwera, who addressed the audience in Chichewa, focused on the need to fight corruption, control public spending and ensure that taxpayers’ money is accounted for.

“If you are wounded, you need to first stop blood from coming out of the wound before doing anything else. Those who fought for this country did it well, but certain things have been forgotten with the passage of time. We need good policy direction in terms of public spending and stabilise our kwacha by producing and exporting more than we import.

“It’s not just about agriculture. We also need to look at mining to make sure that those who do mining activities in this country bank their money in here,” said Chakwera.

On the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp), the three said they will revise the programme and introduce initiatives through which farmers would be getting fertiliser and other farm inputs on loan.

Other aspirants are Lovemore Munlo, Betson Majoni, Eston Kakhome, John Tembo and Chris Daza.

ZBS editor Pilirani Phiri said the other aspirants failed to turn up for different reasons.

But he said ZBS will organise another public debate for all the aspirants before the party’s convention which has been postponed to a later date.

Opposition Malawi Congress Party’s President and veteran politician John Tembo has come in the open declaring that he will contest as president of the party at the party’s indaba slated for 28

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Zodiak radio few minutes ago, Tembo openly said “I will fill the forms” for the MCP Presidency. Asked if he was not afraid of other contestants like Secretary General Chris Daza, Felix Jumbe and Rev. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, Tembo said he was not, adding that he welcomes them all describing that as “democracy.”

However, it is yet to be seen if Chakwera and Chris Daza will indeed be allowed to contest because according to the Daily Times, the party’s governing committee proposed that aspiring office bearers in the party should be individuals with a “minimum five years membership and that any member of the party should be allowed to be president as many times as they can as long as they get elected at a legitimate convention.”

This move is seen as a deliberate ploy to bar the head of Malawi Assemblies of God Rev. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera who expressed interest to run for the party’s presidency while on the other hand accommodating current leader John Tembo who is barred from contesting again for the same party position.

The party’s constitution allows MCP president to contest only for two terms on the party’s ticket as a presidential candidate in general elections; as such Tembo could not be allowed to contest for the party’s presidency once more as he vied for country’s presidency on the party’s ticket in 2004 and 2009 general elections respectively.

The proposal is also seem as targeting some top members including the current Secretary General Chris Daza who has been at loggerheads with Tembo.

However, the party’s Director of Elections, Joseph Jobvuyalema, said members including Chakwera are free to submit their nomination forms so long “if they believe that they are eligible to contest for any position at the convention.”

But MCP Administrative Secretary Potipher Chidaya argued that the proposed amendments are “in no way meant to accommodate Tembo.”

Chidaya further claims that the proposed amendments are aimed at making MCP match with changing times.

“They are proposals which will either be confirmed or rejected by the convention,” he said.

Political party conventions—once a luxurious event in Malawi’s nascent democracy—has recently gained number one spot in Malawi politics, thanks to Peoples Party (PP). Today, citeris paribus, we can add to PP such other political parties as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) if their public pronouncements in the recent past are anything to go by.

Such events, as is perhaps normal of a political party events, are not without a fair share of intrigues; the UDF’s Muluzi-Chilumpha molestation of democracy, remember?; the PP’s Joyce Banda botching of multipartysm, this one should be vivid given its recency, uhh!; and now the forthcoming DPP’s Mutharika-Chimunthu mad politicking, ooh No, experimentation of democracy on the 17th of April, 2013.

Political and social commentators, academicians, and keen followers of Malawi politics would most likely agree with this author that one thing is clear from political party conventions—power of money. Perhaps those of the contrary opinion would argue, however opinionated their argument may be, that such is an eternal reality of politics, or most realistically, life in its entirety. Accepted, it is however still senseless to assume that dictates of corrupting power of money has insurmountable influence towards peoples’ choices where such people are empowered educationally, politically, and socio-economically.

But yet, sadly of course, that seems to be the order of the day in politics elsewhere in the world. And locally, my-vote-is-for-moneyed-candidate mentality has reached crisis levels with those financially-gifted almost always winning not due to articulation of facts but dangling of carrots in the name of coffins and handouts.

It is when you factor in the above that you know, almost with ultimate certainty, that given contestants A and B, A is nine out of ten likely to carry the day because of ‘charitable’ donations to party loyalists and/or delegates.

One does not need to be TB Joshua to prophesy the results in a political party event; all one needs is to analyze the money-thing in candidates. Predictably, that is why the majority saw Bakili Muluzi winning to Cassim Chilumpha. Similarly, it was not news when the sole contender in the PP convention dramatically chickened out of the contest and president Joyce Banda won (got rubber-stamped?) as PP’s presidential torchbearer. And the DPP convention is no exception to this arrangement, nor will the MCP.

Cut loose, even a standard one pupil would know that chances are ninety-nine percent in favour of Peter Mutharika in the 17th April DPP convention.

The ‘because’ of young Mutharika winning is just clear—power of money. For doubting Thomases, probably the recent media reports of some DPP governors giving their support to Peter Mutharika prior to the convention will do. If, and this is only ‘if’, the calm Chimunthu Banda had money and that he too had dangled that-which-has-governors-pledging-allegiance to some notable and influential kingmakers, perhaps then we would have expected an unpredictable outcomes from the DPP convention. But alas, that is not it.

As for the MCP, John Tembo, despite his aging body and political ideologies, would most likely emerge the winner to his contender, be him the media politician Chris Daza or whoever else.

It is at this point that it becomes clear that Malawian politics, unlike in advanced democracies, politics of names, carrots, and emotionally-charged diatribes is likely to make one a ruler than politics of issues, vision, and measured discourse. Money, in Malawi politics, is the iron fist to hardknocking political opponents, both within and outside political parties.

Regrettably, this political degeneration has found a warm welcome in university corridors where instead of being champions of modern participative and issue-based democracy students have tended to sacrifice their reasoning ingenuity at the altar of masochism and political opportunism.

Consequently, university students have ceased to be the beacon of democratic progress and progressive thinking but puppets of sadists and destroyers of past political gains.

nd added to this, the local masses have quietly accepted politics of handouts so much so that the names that ring in their ears are of only those that game them the miserable vote-for-me gift.

Guided by the foregoing and mindful of uncivilized nature of politics, the author hastens to state that in the forthcoming DPP convention, Chimunthu Banda, the contender in the tough race for the party’s highest position against Peter Mutharika, will most certainly fall a tough fall, just like then UDF’s Cassim Chilumpha before him and MCP’s Chris Daza after him. And that the author bets.

You may be asking, “Why would that be so?” And those in the know would respond, “…because the guys did/do not have money to dangle or a selling name to display”. Chimunthu will lose not that he does not have issues, though it is doubtful he has any, but because he has no money.

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is hunting for at least K20 million (about $50 000) to hold its convention on April 27 in Lilongwe to elect a president who will also lead the party in the 2014 presidential race.

In an interview on Thursday, MCP deputy chief whip Lingson Belekanyama said while the party has not yet come up with the actual budget for the convention, they are expecting the indaba to cost them at least K20 million.

MCP’s convention is scheduled to take place at the Natural Resources College (NRC) where about 800 delegates are expected to attend.

“We are looking at a figure of not less than K20 million. It cannot be less than that,” said Belekanyama.

MCP director of the convention Joseph Njovuyalema on Tuesday said the party foresees financial challenges on its convention despite expressing optimism that the conference will still take place as scheduled.

Belekanyama said they are banking on MCP supporters and other well-wishers to raise over K20 million for the convention.

“We expect that some people will come forward to support the convention. There are some people who have expressed interest to make contributions,” he said. He did not disclose details of the individuals.

Apart from paying for the venue of the convention, MCP is also expected to meet costs for delegates’ transport, food and party clothes to be distributed to the delegates and other expenses.

At the convention, MCP leader John Tembo is likely to face challenge from Nkhotakota Central member of Parliament Edwin Banda and the party’s secretary general Chris Daza.

Belekanyama said while some people have showed interest to contest for the party’s presidential post, nobody has so far officially communicated their interest to the party.

“We just know that people are mobilising support on the ground,” he said.

Daza who has had sour relations with Tembo after his continued calls for the MCP president to leave the party’s leadership in the hands of young blood, this week trashed the preparatory process for the convention, saying as secretary general of the party, he has not been consulted on preparations.

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) convention scheduled for next month in Lilongwe is said to be rocked with uncertainties, challenges and several hurdles to be overcome before the set date.

Among others, MCP is still struggling to come up with a budget for the meet and also to mend the sour relationship between president John Tembo and the secretary general Chris Daza.

Despite optimism from MCP director of the convention Joseph Njobvuyalema that the convention will be held as scheduled, Daza, on the other hand, trashed the whole preparatory process.

In an interview on Tuesday, Njobvuyalema said the party is yet to come up with a budget for the convention, but he added that despite such a development the party already sees some financing challenges.

He said: “We just have a picture of how much we will spend to accommodate the 800 delegates, providing transportation and food for all the delegates for four days, working on IDs for the delegates, party clothes to be distributed and other miscellaneous, we know that we are talking of huge sums of money.”

Njobvuyalema, although optimistic that the convention will go ahead as scheduled, said at the moment, the party is seeking additional funding from well wishers.

During the convention slated for April 27 at the Natural Resources College (NRC), MCP, which ruled the country from independence in 1964 to the dawn of plural politics in 1994, is expected to elect its president who will lead the party in the 2014 presidential race.

Tembo, who has been facing resistance from contesting, is likely to face challenge from Daza and Nkhotakota Central Member of Parliament Edwin Banda.

Njobvuyalema said so far the party has not yet started receiving nominations for candidates as the party was still working on the nomination forms

At long last. Malawi’s old political party, Malawi Congress Party MCP, says will hold its long awaited convention in April 2013 to enable people choose new office bearers.

“We also want to use this indaba to have more young people join the party and take up positions,” said MCP’s spokesperson Mr. Dzoole Mwale.

Of late the party has developed cracks following pressure from rebels pressing the party’s President Mr. John Tembo to call for a convention.

“I cannot be forced to hold a convention. We will do that when we are ready,” that has been Mr. Tembo’s response for the past years.

However with the April convention approaching – Mr. Mwale, the party’s spokesperson, could not say if Mr. Tembo – in his 80s – will also compete for the position of President.

So far Mr. Tembo is being challenged by beleaguered Secretary General Dr. Chris Daza who has openly declared that he wants the party’s top seat,

The same April, on the 17th, the Democratic Progressive Party will also hold its convention.