I et af Afrikas fattigste lande vil præsidenten gå sine egne veje i økonomien og ikke tolerere alt for megen modsigelse – og slet ikke fra Vesten, der yder udviklingsbistand (eller har gjort det).
Malawi’s President since 2004 Bingu wa Mutharika has told foreign donors to “go to hell”, accusing them of plotting with local groups to topple his government, BBC online reports Monday.
Mr Mutharika said he was “tired of being insulted” and urged his followers to prevent any protests against him. Civil society said there are no planned protests – and condemned the president for inciting (ophidse) his supporters.
“I will not accept this nonsense any more,” Mr Mutharika (78) said as he opened a road in his home tea-growing district of Thyolo in southern Malawi.
“If donors say this is not democracy, to hell with you… yes, I am using that word, tell them to go to hell,” he said on Sunday.
The UK and other Western donors cut decelopment aid to Malawi in 2010, criticising its economic policies. Last July, at least 19 people were shot dead by police during anti-government protests over the worsening economy.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75 per cent of the population living on less than one US dollar (5,50 DKR) a day.
The Southern african nation (former colonial Nyasaland) has suffered shortages of fuel and foreign exchange since aid flows dried up two years ago.
