It never rain but pours on President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika’s leadership as Civil Society Organisations in the country have ganged up again calling for the immediate resignation of Mutharika, saying he has failed to govern the country.

The call comes barely weeks after President Mutharika openly told the Press in the capital Lilongwe that he will not resigned from his position due to what the CSOs called bloated delegations to the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA).

In a joint statement signed by Human right activists and CSOs led by Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) made available to FaceofMalawi, the CSOs cited high cost of living and ailing economy, dwindling service delivery peppered with empty talk on Public Service reform as some of the indicators of Mutharika’s failure.

CSOs have urged Mutharika to reduce local as well as international travels and revise the Decent and Affordable Housing Subsidy Programme budget and adjust downward the newly introduced fees in schools.

The CSOs which include Human Rights Defenders Forum, Centre for the Development of People (Cedep), Civil and Political Space Platform as well as human rights activists Martha Kwataine and Billy Mayaya have also asked Mutharika to respect media freedom.

Reacting to the call, Presidential Press Officer Gerald Viola trashed the call, saying Mutharika will remain in power until 2019.

Viola claimed that if CSOs says they represent the views of Malawians they should form a Party challenged Mutharika in the forthcoming general election.

“He [Mutharika] was mandated and elected by majority of Malawians (36 percent) during 2014 elections. If they are calling for resignation of the President, who do they think will take over? Timothy Mtambo?” queried Viola.

Viola advised CSOs in the country to use proper channels whenever they want to present their grievances, saying calling for Mutharika’s resignation is a nonstarter.