| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Subsaharan |
| I am not a dictator, says Malawi's president |
| 2011-07-20 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika brushed off accusations that his presidency is turning autocratic, in an interview with AFP days after Britannia suspended aid over complaints of poor governance. "I'm a very open person. Some people have dubbed me dictator. They don't know what a dictator is," Mr Mutharika said. "But there is also discipline, because no nation on this earth can run without discipline," he said. "But dictatorship is never in my bloodstream. I'm a democrat right through." Civil society groups in Malawi have sounded the alarm over policies they say are rolling back hard-fought democratic gains made since the country's first democratic polls in 1994 removed dictator Kamuzu Banda from power. In January, Mr Mutharika signed a law allowing the information minister to ban publications deemed "contrary to the public interest", and in May local government elections -- already delayed for six years -- were again postponed. His government has also imposed a requirement for activists seeking to hold protests to make a deposit of about $15,000 with police, intended as a safeguard against rioting and property damage. The concerns of civil society were echoed in a leaked British diplomatic cable that accused Mr Mutharika of "becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism". That sparked off a diplomatic spat that saw both countries withdraw their ambassadors, while London last week suspended around £19 million ($30.7 million, 21.7 million euros) of budgetary aid meant for anti-poverty programmes in one of the world's poorest countries. Britannia said the aid suspension was "to address UK concerns over economic management and governance", but Mr Mutharika insisted Malawi was not being singled out and would not apologise. "It's certainly not a possibility. What do we apologise for? Here is an envoy who insulted our country," Mr Mutharika said. |
| Posted by:Fred |