HRDC tells Chakwera to act on Malawi economic crisis or resign

BLANTYRE – The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has called upon President Lazarus Chakwera to urgently address the nation on the economic crisis grappling Malawi.

HRDC also wants President Chakwera to explain what his government is doing to normalise the current fuel situation or step aside and let a competent team lead the country forward.

In a statement signed by all senior members of the organization led by national chairperson Gift Trapence, HRDC said the fuel crisis that has bedevilled Malawi over the past two weeks is a sign that the country is sitting on a time bomb which needs immediate action by the government.

“People have been suffering silently for a while but this time, because of government’s inaction in solving the problems, Malawians have been squeezed to a tight corner, they cannot breathe while their leaders are behaving as if everything is normal,” reads part of the statement.

The statement further highlighted that the impression Chakwera and his cabinet are creating is that they are silent spectators who are thinking that the problems will solve themselves or simply disappear on their own.

“But that is not what Malawians voted them into power for, what President Lazarus Chakwera needs to know is that the country is in direct straits and life has become unbearable for ordinary Malawians,” the statement added.

Further, HRDC said while both the government and the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) continue to assure the nation that fuel is under control, but HRDC, notice with sadness that this is contrary to the situation on the ground as Malawians continue to queue for fuel for hours on end.

“What is most troubling is that both the government and NOCMA are not giving Malawians convincing reasons as to the cause of this crisis and what solutions they have at hand, which prompts us to believe that they have no solutions at all,” they explained.

They have then demanded that government should lucidly explain what solutions they have put in place to address the issues of fuel scarcity, power blackouts and shortage of forex in the country.

“What we have on our hands is nothing short of a crisis because forex, fuel and electricity are the hub of running most businesses.”