On Wednesday, 5th July, 2023, President Lazarus Chakwera led Malawians in conducting prayers under various denominations to mark the eve of Malawi’ 59th birthday commemoration since becoming a self rule nation.
Speaking at Bingu International Convention Center in the capital Lilongwe where the prayers were conducted, President Chakwera who during the prayers read scriptures from the book of Nehemiah chapter 3 from verse 1-5 told the nation that it was right for Malawians to begin the 59th celebrations in the presence of God in recognition of the fact that everything that the country has worthy celebrating is a gift from God.
“For this reason, when we consider the theme of this year’s Independence activities which is ‘Celebrating Renewed Unity and Patriotism’, the first place we must experience that renewal is before God.
Would it not for the power of God, this nation would not have come into existence for the scriptures are clear that it is God who has made all the nations of the world from one man. Were it not for the mercy of God, the nation would have perished in any number of natural and man-made disasters, for the scriptures are clear that it is by the mercies of God renewed to us every morning that we are not consumed”. Said President Chakwera.
He further told the nation that time has come for Malawi to celebrate the God’s goodness and wisdom that has seen the country being saved from the failure and crookedness.
Additionally, Malawi leader said; “The best source of our Unity is God Himself. To treat other Malawians as though this is not their country and sow seeds of division and discord among Malawians is to defy the choice of God to have them live on earth as Malawian Citizens”.
Saying the source of patriotism is God Himself, President Chakwera urged Malawians to take time praying for Malawi which he described as a great, united, and a promising country which deserves prayers for generations coming to find it even greater than today.
This year the celebrations are being conducted under the theme “Celebrating Renewed Unity and Patriotism”, Kukondwerera Umodzi, Kudzipereka ndi Kukonda Dziko Lathu in vernacular.
The prayers were attended by several dignitaries including President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania who is on a three-day State Visit to Malawi.
Malawian International Footballer Tabitha Chawinga through her ‘Believe In Possibilities’ campaign on Tuesday, donated various items to her former school, St Dennis Primary School in Rumphi district.
Among others, the player in partnership with Standard Bank Malawi has donated Notebooks, Ballpoint pens and Footballs.
Speaking after making the donation, the player who is also the captain for Malawi football team ‘The Scorchers’ said she was excited to have reached out to the school and thanked Standard Bank for the partnership.
Tabitha with School kids Photo Credit: Aluso Media
“Seeing learners being motivated and inspired to achieve their respective dreams through education and various talents brings joy to my life,” she said.
The very first schools to benefit from the ‘Believe in Possibilities’ campaign were Mikombe Primary School in Thyolo and Mitawa Primary School in Phalombe.
Chawinga made history by becoming the first African player to win the Italian Serie A Women’s Golden Boot Award for the 2022-23 season.
One of renowned Nigerian authors Michael Bodam Afuwai pen name El-Peters has published a book called ‘Back-When In Time’.
In an interview, Afuwai who is also a poet and spoken word artist said his book which was released on June 12,2023 is centered around; Hope, Courage, Love, Faith, and Nature.
“Yes, the book is a collection of movie inspire poems with a touch of sketch.
“My sincere gratitude goes to the following artists;Desoji Arts, Ayomide Arts, Olaleye Abdullah, and ArtbyPhemmy,” he said.
Afuwai said what motivated him to write the book is his love for creative writing, artwork, and a means to earn a living.
He said currently, people can access the hard copies of his book on Selar platform only by simply clicking: https://selar.co/v9fk .
Michael Afuwai
The author concluded by urging his fellow writers in the world that they should always face their fears by; writing more, reading more, watching more movies, and connecting themselves with nature daily for them to become creative writers and accomplish their dreams in the writing industry.
Afuwai started writing casually in 2011 but took it seriously in 2017.
The author participated in the fourth edition of Nigeria’s Pen on Fire in 2021.
He is also the winner of the’DESOJI BIRTHDAY CONTEST 2020′.
As author, Afuwai is inspired by legendary authors Shakespeare, Richard Wright, John Grisham, Wole Soyinka, and David Rubadiri.
And apart from being a writer, poet and spoken word artist, Afuwai is also a Law graduate and is currently on his way to be called to the Nigerian Bar.
President Lazarus Chakwera has with immediate effect pardoned a total of 2,298 prisoners as part of the 59th Independence Anniversary celebrations.
Section 89 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi gives powers to the president to pardon prisoners.
In a statement signed by Secretary for Homeland Security Oliver Kumbambe dated 5th July 2023, the pardoned prisoners are those who have served half of their sentences, the elderly, the chronically ill and female convicts who were accompanied by their children to prison.
“The prisoners who have been pardoned are those that have met the requirements of the guidelines for the granting of pardon to convicted prisoners and have demonstrated excellent behavioral reform while serving their sentences,” reads the statement.
It adds: “The pardon of 2,298 convinced prisoners by his excellency the state president is an act of mercy during the 59th Independent Anniversary celebrations.”
Chakwera has shown true statesmanship touching vulnerable people.
As Malawi commemorates 59 years of independence on Thursday, July 6, 2023, it is a perfect opportunity for Malawians to reflect on the journey that the country has travelled so far, and how the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) government under President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera fits into the sum total of our social and economic development since 1964.
The MCP belongs to the league of revolutionary political parties that fought for independence in countries across Southern Africa such as the South West Africa People’s Organisation or SWAPO in Namibia; and the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) in Zimbabwe.
In South Africa, there is the African National Congress (ANC); the Kenya African National Union (KANU) in Kenya; the United National Independence Party (UNIP) of Kenneth David Kaunda in Zambia, and the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) of Julius Kambarage Nyerere in Tanzania.
These are the political parties whose indelible imprint on the face of liberation history in countries across Southern and Eastern Africa will be difficult to erase for many years to come. They played a key role in the liberation struggle from colonial imperialism.
Apart from just liberating their countries, these political parties also heralded a new path of sociopolitical drift in their countries towards economic development that has largely been a mixed bag of success as well as failure.
In Malawi, the accolade of being the first and only liberating political party goes to the MCP. And that legacy will stick with us for many more years to come. It was Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda alongside some liberation heroes such as Kanyama Chiume, Orton Chirwa, Henry Masauko Chipembere, Yatuta Chisiza, Dunduzu Chisiza and others that fought a gallant fight against British colonial dominance in the 1950s and 60s.
It was also the MCP and Kamuzu who took Malawians on the first genuine social and economic development path after independence. To date, the party’s development footprint is still visible. In fact, most of this country’s telling and landmark infrastructure is the handwork of Kamuzu and his MCP. We ought to just give it to them.
Since the advent of multiparty democracy in this country, Malawi’s social economic progression has been that of three steps forward and five steps backwards. Under the tutelage of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Malawi adopted wholesale Structure Adjustment Programs under former President, Bakili Muluzi, apparently to devolve more economic control to the private sector, and kick-start rapid economic development.
The SAPs saw most state owned companies such as the Malawi Development Corporation (MDC); David Whitehead and Sons (DWS); Brown & Clappton, and others being sold to private sector players for a song. We later realized that this was hardly the economic panacea that Malawi needed.
Thousands of people were thrown out of employment; the Malawian Kwacha lost massive value amid high taxes and runaway inflation; and corruption became endemic thereby stifling the little gains that may had been made.
Efforts by successive governments to bring about an economic revolution to the Malawian economy on a constant life support have been sparsely, and at the most, negligible to make any significant dent at the jaws of poverty.
Ironically, over 25 years after the change of government to multiparty rule, Malawians decided to hand power back to MCP through the leadership of President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, who became Malawi’s President after the 2020 presidential election re-run. This was a classical case of ‘let the one who started finish it’. And true to this adage, Dr Lazarus Chakwera did not waste time but get down to work.
Despite facing a triple-whammy of catastrophies like the Covid 19 pandemic; the war in Ukraine and a slumping global economy, the Chakwera government quickly announced a series of measures to cushion Malawi’s economy against external shocks as well as to inject enough gas to put it on a growth path. The measures included spending cuts through stringent fiscal measures to bring about spending discipline in government and departments. In November 2021, President Lazarus Chakwera launched the Malawi Vision 2063, a development blueprint designed to guide Malawi’s development agenda in the short, medium to long term. The objective is to make Malawi a middle income country by 2030, and a full blown economy by 2063.
As we are talking, Malawi is currently almost a construction site with various construction projects sprouting variously from high and low. Currently, negotiations are at an advanced stage for government to qualify for an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with the IMF, a development, which is expected to help stabilize the economy by among other things making forex readily available.
In the larger scheme of things, it appears it is once again the MCP government through current President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera that are genuinely destined to bring about real and practical social and economic development to Malawi through an empowering vision heralded by Malawi’s founding President, Kamuzu.
It is thus befitting that as Malawi celebrates its 59 years of independence, Malawians must also use the space to reflect on the role that the first revolutionary political party in this country – MCP – played in the total social and economic development of the country.
They say time is the best judge of everything and it seems time has judged that MCP and President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera must continue to guide this country on a social and economic development path in a faithful and time honored quest to uplift the masses out of poverty.
