The newly appointed Vice President, Michael Bizwick Usi has promised to deliver in his capacity but admitted that Saulos Klaus Chilima’s shoes are too big for him to fill.
Usi has been serving as the Vice President of the United Transformation Party for the past five years and was named the new Malawi’s Veep on Thursday to replace the late Chilima who died in a plane crash last week together with 8 others.
Usi, born in 1968 was sworn in as the Vice President of Malawi on Friday in the Parliament building and the swearing-in ceremony was led by Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda and Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa.
Speaking when he was swearing, Usi expressed his sadness at taking oath in the same place where the late Chilima who introduced him to the political industry lay in state.
“For honoring Dr. Chilima’s legacy by appointing me, I pledge that even though Dr. Chilima’s shoes are too big for me to fill, I will work hard and do my best to ensure that we deliver on the board agenda that you [Dr. Chakwera] have,” he said.
Bizwick Usi said he believes that under the leadership of Chakwera, he will thrive saying that although most Malawians do not know that Cuakwera helped SKC to succeed as the Vice President.
“I have fought many battles to serve the Malawians and I’m grateful to the Malawians for the support and words of solidarity. Without them, there is no country called Malawi for me to call home,” he added.
USI pledges to unite UTM amidst alleged divisions
Conspicuously, United Transformation Movement’s top officials were not available at the Parliament when their Vice President was being sworn in as the state Vice President.
The party’s General Secretary, Patricia Kaliati said she was away from Lilongwe but was quick to say that she would visit Usi when she arrives in the Capital City.
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However, in his acceptance speech, Dr. Usi pledged to unite the party and continue with their dreams. He said he is planning to call a meeting with the party members as they are working on keeping their dream of “tsogolo lathu lowala” alive.
“I’m grateful to the UTM family for the support you have been giving me in the time I have been our party’s Vice President. I pledge to you that I will do my best to build our party and uphold our shared values and restore our unity as we forge ahead to keep alive the dream of “tsogolo kathu lowala.”
On February 6, 2019, Dr. Usi joined mainstream politics when Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima of UTM unveiled him as his running mate for the May 21 tripartite elections. Prior to this, Dr. Usi had
established a popular semi-political movement called ‘Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu,’ which promoted the philosophy of independence and self-sufficiency among Malawians.
Together with Chilima, campaigned for office ahead of the 2019 tripartite elections and the 2020 presidential re-run, which they won in partnership with the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
In 2020, President Lazarus Chakwera appointed Usi as Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Wildlife.
