The UTM Party says it does not regret joining the Tonse Alliance, after the resignation of some of its top officials recently, due to what they called “unfulfilled campaign promises.”
The party’s secretary-general Patricia Kaliati says despite that former director of youth Bon Kalindo and regional secretary for the south Henry Gonani have blamed the Alliance, the party is not in the least worried since usually, people come and go in political parties.
Kaliati said, “Whatever these people (Kalindo and Gonani) are saying indicates that we have human rights and democracy at play, people can express their opinion, and that is expected.”
Asked if this is a cause for worry, UTM secretary Patricia Kaliati says the development means democracy is at play, adding that anyone is free to express their opinion or leave and join any grouping.
“Joining this Alliance is not something we decided in one day, and fulfilling the promises is not something that cannot happen in one day, but we understand that People come and go, and they have the freedom to leave and join any group. However, despite that Mr. Gonani was a hard worker, his letter has signs of disgruntlement,” she said.
A political commentator Chimwemwe Tsitsi told us that it is unfortunate for a party to lose members because political parties need to grow for the sake of democracy and that though the officials are disgruntled, their reasons for leaving the party are genuine.
When we asked him why the alliance partners Malawi Congress Party members are not resigning on the same basis, Tsitsi said that probably MCP members are loyal to the party, and are disciplined.
He said, “maybe MCP members are used to living without any positions. They have been out of government for a very long time, so it’s easy for them to live without, even not in the civil service.”
During the 2020 presidential fresh poll, the UTM under the Tonse Alliance made several promises, premised on the hope that if the alliance was voted into power, they will be fulfilled, which some quarters feel is taking too long to fulfill.
