BLANTYRE: Malawi’s Peter Mutharika vowed to root out government corruption and rebuild an ailing economy after he was sworn in on Saturday for a second term as president of the southern African nation.
Mutharika, 85, secured more than 56 percent of the votes last month, defeating outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera, 70, who received 33 percent. Voters rejected Chakwera after five years of worsening economic crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries.
The Sept. 16 vote marked the fourth presidential contest between Mutharika and Chakwera.
Mutharika took the oath of office in a stadium in the commercial city of Blantire packed with supporters dressed in the Democratic Progressive Party’s blue and white colors, as well as government officials and African heads of state.
In his inaugural address, he said his administration was inheriting a country in economic crisis.
Malawi is facing acute food shortages, cost-of-living pressures, and a lack of foreign exchange that has crippled businesses and led to persistent fuel shortages, he said.
“There is no money in government. Borrowing is extremely high, and nobody knows where the borrowed money has gone,” he said.
But he pledged improvements, saying: “We will fix this country.”
“I don’t promise you milk and honey. I promise you hard work, tough and painful decisions,” he said. “The honeymoon of looting government is over!“
Mutharika appealed to the international community to invest in Malawi, saying the country seeks partnerships, not handouts.
He said he would soon send a delegation to America to discuss his country’s prospects, particularly in light of recent cuts in US foreign aid.
Mutharika said US President Donald Trump sent him a message of congratulations.
Mutharika praised the US, the UK and the EU for their support in fighting corruption,
Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party stated in a press release that although the outgoing president was absent from the inauguration, he extended his best wishes to Mutharika, hoping for his success and good health.
