Opinion polls have already predicted that Malawi’s former president Bakili Muluzi who is a presidential candidate for the opposition United Democratic Front will bounce into power in 2009 general elections by beating the incumbent leader Bingu wa Mutharika.

The question is why is it that Malawians are still interested in voting for Muluzi. The Tribune analyses Muluzi’s achievements that made him a darling of the people.

The United Democratic Front (UDF), as early as 1992, captured the imagination of the people with its slogan for change. Malawi was ready and eager to change the prevailing system of government from Kamuzu Banda’s iron-fist, one-man rule, infamous for its chilling ‘sudden death’ policy against dissent, to a multiparty participatory and representative democracy.

The first achievement made by the UDF, which is often overlooked, is that it dared oppose the ‘Lion of Malawi’ in an organized manner and succeeded to remove from power Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, the symbol of forces of darkness.

In 1994, the UDF-led government established rule of law and, for the first time in 31 years of independence, Malawi became a nation of laws. Citizens no longer would be under the rule of man. The UDF demystified the presidency and opened it to transparency and accountability.

Malawians started to enjoy basic human rights such as the freedom of association, assembly, speech, opinion, economic activity, religion, and other freedoms that restored and enhanced human dignity.

The UDF-led government refused to assent into law an amendment debated and passed in Parliament to impose restrictions on press freedoms. The UDF upheld constitutional provisions and respected the Bill of Rights and one result from that was that Malawi had numerous newspapers, magazines and other publications disseminating a wide and varied range of issues ranging from politics, economics to social and finance.

The UDF-led government brought Malawi into the international human rights system by abiding by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention for Civil and Political Rights, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

This change marked Malawi’s entry into the family of free nations and as a result, the people of Malawi gained recognition and respect from the international community.

Malawi, which, hitherto, was a pariah state with no meaningful relations with the outside world, entered into diplomatic relations with a significant number of countries, notably from Eastern Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Under the UDF-led government, Malawi benefited greatly from the interaction with the new and traditional diplomatic ties in form of enhanced trade and commerce, cultural and educational exchanges, tourism and financial, material and technical aid, among others.

These are some of the major achievements without which, regarding the effects of the dictatorship on the unity of the nation, there would be a continued downward spiral of the dismemberment of Malawi as a unitary state.

Once the people built faith in the new system of multiparty democracy and belief in the United Democratic Front’s ability to nurture and entrench the core democratic values and the fundamental principles of democracy, a vibrant and buoyant culture took hold where the people were more assertive, more confident and ready to realize their aspirations of social, economic and political development.

Under the UDF-led government between 1994 and 2004, Malawi achieved unimagined progress in economic prosperity resulting in huge transfers of wealth from the state to individual citizens and investors.

The budget deficit in 1994 when the UDF took over government was 22 percent of the Domestic Gross Product (GDP); inflation rate was riding at 98 percent; the exchange rate had depreciated by 254 percent. By 2004 the budget deficit was three (3) percent of the GDP; inflation rate was nine (9) percent and the exchange rate was at 109 Kwacha to one US dollar. This was no mean achievement.

The UDF-led government between 1994 and 2004 also transformed the communications sector, liberalizing the airwaves.  Several private, commercial and community radio stations were established like the BBC, FM 101, MBC Radio II, Capital Radio, MIJ FM, Radio Maria, Radio Islam, Joy Radio, Dzimwe Community Radio, Zodiak, Star FM, Cavalry Family Church Radio and Television Malawi.

There was also the introduction of cellular phone technologies, digital satellite television (DSTV), internet, and the provision of affordable and greater access to telephone, reaching out to the remotest parts of the country.

In the area of energy, the UDF-led government between 1994 and 2004 embarked on massive electrification programme to connect both urban and rural premises and households to the national grid through the commissioning of the Kapichira Hydro Electric Power Station in Chikwawa and the Wovwe Hydro Electric Power Station in Karonga.

In the area of education, the UDF introduced the Free Primary Education Programme resulting in massive enrolment from 1.9 million to about 3.2 million pupils. The number of primary schools increased in number from 3,216 in 1994 to 4,915 by 2003.

The UDF-led government also ensured that there were secondary schools in every district and the number of secondary schools increased from 104 secondary schools in 1994 to 840 secondary schools by 2003.

The UDF-led government renewed Girls Attainment in Basic Literacy Education (GABLE) Project in 1995. This project contributed to the increased in female enrolment in the university from 268 in 1994 to 1,116 by 2003.

The College of Medicine opened its doors was established to train doctors locally and the Kamuzu College of Nursing College started offering degree courses.

The Mzuzu University, Livingstonia University, ShareWorld Open University, African Bible College, Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ) were also established. Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational, Education and Training Authority (TEVETA), a regulatory body established in July 1999 to promote an integrated, demand-driven competency-based modular, technical, entrepreneurial and vocational and training system with the objective of enhancing skills and vocational training at its seven well-equipped technical colleges.

The UDF was absorbed with providing education at all levels because the lack of education and its inaccessibility before 1994 was the major cause of discrimination and created  institutionalized  inequality where the chosen few were privileged.

Malawi witnessed massive infrastructural development in form of improved and new roads, bridges, schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics and health centres.

The UDF-led government constructed new Hospitals-Mzuzu Central Hospital, Chiradzulu District Hospital, Mzimba District Hospital, Thyolo District Hospital, Chitipa, Balaka, Nkhota Kota, Chikwawa, Zomba and Blantyre.  A community hospital was built in Monkey Bay. 10 new health centres and 75 maternity units across the country were also constructed.

The National Aids Commission (NAC) was established and under this umbrella organization, public and private sectors, faith groups and the civil society, among others, were mobilized to campaign against the spread of HIV and AIDS. The UDF-led government introduced the Anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs in strategic hospitals.

During the UDF-led government, several road projects were executed. The roads constructed include the Chiweta-Karonga Road, Msulira-Nkhota-kota Road, Naminga-Chiponde, Masasa-Golomoti-Monkey-Bay, Nchalo-Bangula-Nsanje-Marka Road, Zomba-Jali, Phalombe-Chitakale, Tsangano Turn Off-Neno-Mwanza road, Jenda-Euthini-Chikwawa Road , Rumphi-Nyika Road, Mangochi-Malindi-Makanjira Road, Lirangwi-Chingale-Machinga Turn Off Road, Mponela Turn Off-Ntchisi Road, Limbe-Mulanje-Midima Road, Salima-Livingstonia Beach, Lilongwe-Salima Road, Salima-Nkhotakota Road, Mchinji-Lilongwe Road, Lumbadzi-Chitsime-Bunda Road, Kamuzu International Road, Lirangwe-Blantyre Road, Blantyre-Chikwawa, and Balaka-Lirangwe

The UDF-led government safeguarded the independence of the three arms of government, the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary from domination of one against the other.

The UDF-led government enhanced the functions of an independent Malawi Electoral Commission and established governance institutions such as the Human Rights Commission, Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights and Democracy, National Compensation Tribunal, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Office of the Ombudsman, Law Commission and Industrial Relations Court. Reform programmes were introduced to improve prison conditions and police conduct in line with the tenets of democracy.

The UDF-led government entrenched the operations of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Faith and Christian Community, and Civil Society Organizations to act as watchdogs to my government and its programmes. Over 500 NGOs were registered in their various categories.

The UDF-led government decentralized central government by divesting some functions to local authorities through devolution of power from the Central Government. The Local Government Elections in 2000 empowered citizens and stood as testimony that they were actively participating and contributing in governance at every level.

Under MASAF I and II, the UDF-led government completed over 2,000 community projects; drilled over 2,100 boreholes; constructed over 2,300 classrooms; constructed over 100 water kiosks; constructed over 277 bridges; completed over 379 projects under the Public Works Programme, completed 165 environmental projects, among many other projects.

Under water and sanitation, the UDF-led government constructed the Mulunguzi Dam Scheme for Zomba Water Supply, Mzuzu Water Supply Scheme, bore-holes in every constituency, among many others. Under irrigation, new schemes were constructed such as at Bwanje in Ntcheu covering 800 hectares; Mgome in Salima, Miombo in Karonga covering 80 hectares; Khwisa in Balaka covering 40 hectares; Luwelesi in Mzuzu; other irrigation schemes at Domasi, Lufira, Wovwe, Hara, Chonanga, Bua, Kasitu, and Lifidzi were also rehabilitated under my tenure.