Dalitso Kabambe, former Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor who has been subsisting reports to EIU during his tenure as RBM Governor has, in furthering his political ambitions, leveraged his past connections to present an opinion piece masquerading as research findings. Kabambe has entered active politics and is currently aspiring leadership of UTM.
Through his connections established during his stint as RBM Governor, Kabambe has maneuvered to use the EIU, a United Kingdom – based think tank, and submitted a “research finding” for publication. Unsuspecting that no such research has been conducted in Malawi, the EIU proceeded to publish Kabambe’s misrepresenting opinion which claims that Malawi may go to an early election ahead of the routine election scheduled for September 2025.
Kabambe’s opinions, however, as published by EIU has been out-rightly trashed as lacking any verifiable research, raising questions about EIU credibility in its ‘hitman publications’. As Kabambe aligns himself with the UTM party, he openly critiques the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and its leadership, claiming they have failed the nation. Furthermore, he attempts to position UTM as a viable alternative to both the MCP and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), labeling the latter as a “failed option” based on past governance failures up to 2020.
In the EIU published report, Kabambe claims that Malawi may hold early election because, he says, ‘President Chakwera will be impeached’, accusing him and the ruling party (MCP) of failing to govern. In posturing his own minority UTM as a possible party to win the early elections, Kabambe extends his attack on DPP, saying the former ruling party is not the public’s option either, documenting chronicled ills and failures of the DPP during its tenure running up to 2020.
Ironically, while he denounces the DPP’s economic governance, Kabambe was at the helm of the RBM during crucial periods of the DPP’s rule, a time when he championed monetary policies and strategies that doomed the nation’s economy. Critics have pointed out the inconsistency in his positions, raising ethical questions about his sudden shift to political leadership and his attempts to wash his hands of the consequences of policies he once advocated.
The DPP national publicity secretary, Shadrick Namalomba has trashed the EIU report saying that the report doesn’t deserve attention, accusing it of lacking a solid research methodology framework, rendering its conclusions “flawed and susceptible to personal biases”.
In equal wavelength, the MCP national publicity secretary, Jessie Kabwira has dismissed the report as fantasies of a politically-motivated opinion narrated by entities with nefarious interests against the country.
Political analyst George Chaima has voiced skepticism towards Kabambe’s claims planted in EIU publication. He stated, “while Malawi is facing significant socio-economic challenges, suggesting that the nation may stumble into early elections or impeachment motions is not only far-fetched but also indicative of political sentiments that are entirely divorced from reality.” According to Chaima, such assertions do little to address the pressing issues facing the nation, instead serving to further Kabambe’s political ambitions.
