Malawians have elected a new president, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, the former leader of Malawi who has been re-elected to take over after Pastor Lazarus Chakwera.
It is now important for Malawians to move forward, not to look back in anger, disappointment, or disillusionment. The will of the people must be respected, as is expected in any functional and working democracy.
It is equally important for the winners not to embrace a vanquish mentality or a winner-takes-all approach that disregards everyone else who lost. My unsolicited advice to Professor Mutharika is to build a government that is inclusive, united, and composed of capable and competent Malawians.
They do not have to come only from your own party, because political parties are, by nature, limited in the scope of competence and knowledge available to them.
Yes, you have the right to choose your government, but if you want to succeed, form a government of all talents.
Daddy hope on X gives opinion.
Bring in some of those who lost, especially the young and competent leaders from parties like the UTM and UDF, who have demonstrated track records of leadership. That way, you can move forward without a sectarian mentality prevailing.
This is your last term as president; you are not going to run again. You owe no one favours except Malawi and Malawians who have elected you. Do not make decisions that are popular within your party but unpopular in the country. Make the tough, sometimes painful, decisions that will secure your legacy and leave your name remembered with honour.
There are those who will see this as a moment to rebuild Malawi after so many years of failure under the previous administration, and there are others who will see it as their chance to eat.
Beware of such people, Professor Mutharika, because they will destroy your legacy. Focus on building Malawi by surrounding yourself with capable and competent people, not just loyalists.
Loyalists may pledge allegiance, but loyalty does not always translate into competence. Choose those who can deliver real results for the nation.
Elections by nature are a bruising contest, and very difficult, painful things would have been said during the campaign between Professor Mutharika, Pastor Lazarus Chakwera, Atupele Muluzi, and others.
Now is the time to put all that behind you. At the end of the day, you are all Malawians. Malawi’s success is your success, and its failure is also your failure.
I wish Malawians well. We are one African people, bound by shared history and destiny. Your success is also our success, and your failure is our failure too
