By Linda Kwanjana
Malawi President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Friday honoured distinguished social enterprise through Zikomo Award at a function which took place at State House in Lilongwe.
Speaking during the function Chakwera said he was happy to gather to express gratitude to members of society who have distinguished themselves by
their service to Malawi and its people.
The President said in this third
instalment of the Zikomo Presidential Awards, he thought it appropriate to honour some of our nation’s outstanding social entrepreneurs and the social enterprises they lead to provide solutions to some of the social challenges Malawi faces.
“Social enterprises are admirable because of their pursuit of sustainable solutions that build self-reliance and
reduce the culture of dependence that is often associated with other kinds of interventions,” he said.
Chakwera said fundamentally, the remarkable individuals who established and who run these social enterprises have rejected three retrogressive paths they could have easily taken in response to the social problems seen around the country.
Said President Chakwera: “Whether it is the social problem of water inaccessibility that is being addressed by awardees like Baseflow, Tengani Water Users Association, and Henga-Phoka Water Users Association; or the social problem of three food insecurity that is being addressed by awardees like the School of Agriculture for Family Independence, ND Madalitso Food Plant, and ACADES; or the social problem of poor access to healthcare services that is being addressed by awardees like Blessings Hospital, Partners in Hope, Uchembere Wabwino, Micromek Limited, and Wandikweza; or the social problem of youth unemployment that is being addressed by awardees like Mtalimanja Holdings and Tingathe; or the social problem of refugee living conditions and economic needs that are being addressed by Kibebe.”
The Malawi leader said the first path that each of these social enterprises have rejected is the path of being part of the problem in our country, which some in our midst are very good at.
“We all know that in this country, there are some who prefer to create problems for others, who prefer to keep things in a broken state because they know that keeping Malawi in a state of dysfunction gives them relevance, gives them social and political capital, and in some cases, gives them a platform for making money,” he said.
Chakwera said social enterprises are driven by people who genuinely want Malawi’s problems to be fixed for everyone, so they just get up off their feet every day and work with others to provide solutions. And tonight we celebrate that.
