Center for Democracy and Economic Development Initiative (CDEDI) has challenged Tonse Alliance administration to come out in the open on some of the deferred campaign promises.

In a press statement made available to Face of Malawi, signed by the organization’s chairperson Sylvester Namiwa, CDEDI said if President Lazarus Chakwera come out very clearly, it will bar Malawians from concluding that he is a liar.

According to the statement, CDEDI has noted that it has become a tradition for the Tonse Alliance administration to “keep changing, deferring or at worst keeping mum on most of its flagship promises which were very attractive to the Malawian voters.”

During campaign period, Tonse partners promised that they will create 1 million jobs for the youth in the first year of governing, reducing passport prices to K14, 000 from the current K90, 000 and universal fertilizer subsidy Programme which has now been changed to the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP), where only two 50kg bags of fertilizer will be accessible to four (4) million smallholder farmers in Malawi at MK4, 495 per bag, among others.

Realizing that all the campaign promises made by Chakwera and his allies cannot be completed in a year, CDEDI said it expected that Chakwera would have explained how the promises would be achieved within his five year term of office when he delivered his State of Nation Address (SONA) two weeks ago during the opening of parliament session.

“It was also our expectation to hear from the President on how the promises he has made will be achieved, by giving a very clear roadmap for the same,” reads the statement.

Consequently, top officials form Tonse Administration have said Chakwera and his deputy Saulos Chilima are committed to honor and fulfill their campaign promises.