Malawians preoccupied with jealousy—APM

President Peter Mutharika has said Malawians are so preoccupied with jealousy that they can go to any length to destroy each other in any worst possible way.

The President expressed the sentiments yesterday when he attended a service of worship at the Evangelical Church of Malawi’s Nyasa Mission at Ntambanyama in Thyolo District.

In his address to the congregation monitored on taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) television, Mutharika said there is need for reconciliation, unity and patriotism among Malawians to move the country forward.

He said: “I think there is too much jealousy in this country for whatever reason. One time we were supposed to be the warm heart of Africa, but I think that ‘heart’ has become very cold. We are very cold towards each other and we are prepared to destroy each other even in social networks and so on and so forth.”

The President said it is disheartening to see people publicising false rumours about each other, especially through the social media. Mutharika referred to his alleged death rumours last year after his extended stay in the United States of America (USA) where he attended the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York as one case in point.

In his sermon, Reverend Charles Mawaya of the Evangelical Church of Malawi also emphasised the need for the citizenry to get rid of jealousy and work in solidarity so that the country can keep on progressing.

He also said that the tendency of giving thanks to the Lord when everything seems to be on the right track is unacceptable as people can engage in thanksgiving prayers in any given situation, be it good or bad.

Said Mawaya: “There are a lot of things that we need to be thankful for and we do not only have to be thankful when we are having a good life. We have ample time to show our gratitude to the Lord for.

“Many people want to thank the Lord when they are driving nice cars, when they have a good family, when they are eating nice meals and living a happy life; that is when they praise the Lord. But when they are in their times of greatest despair, they start to question God’s existence.”

In her remarks, Thyolo Thava member of Parliament (MP) Mary Thom Navicha hailed Mutharika for implementing development projects anationwide.

Nyasa Mission was founded in 1893 by the Reverend Joseph Booth. n