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Patricia Nangozo-Kainga

Zomba Central MP

In the run up to the 2019 Tripartite Elections, Every Woman has introduced a 50-50 Campaign Slot page. This page is meant to promote female parliamentary aspirants and activityies or events in line with the 50-50 campaign. Towards the elections, our reporter Brenda Twea shall engage the female aspirants for insights about their political careers, specifically what they have to offer and what sets them apart.

Nangozo-Kainga: I have passion to serve

Being MP was her best platform to serve

Having been voted Member of Parliament (MP) in 2014, Patricia Nangozo-Kainga from Ntiya Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mlumbe in Zomba represents the people of Zomba Central Constituency.

Born in a family of four, and being the only girl, she had a burning desire to be close to people.

“I did that at church and at the office when I discovered that people needed others who can listen to them and help in the short and long-term. I have a passion to serve and I needed a good platform for it. I thought being an MP would be ideal,” she says.

She has made good progress during her term of office, with good roads now in the city, as well as bridges and electricity where there were none. There is now a tele-centre, a stadium construction project underway, water kiosks, a new market at Three Miles, and streetlights.

“Government has been committed to bringing all these development projects in my constituency.  We had bad roads at Cobbe Barracks, but right now the road works are under way. I am lobbying for an Olympic centre and a shopping mall. I am also appealing to investors to construct magnificent buildings to completely change the face of our city,” she says.

All these achievements, she says, would not have been possible without government collaborating with her and councillors.

Among challenges she faces, Kainga observes that some people have not fully accepted women as leaders.

“Being a woman leader can be stressful because you have to juggle roles. You have to be a mother and a servant of the people. Also, as female MPs, we sometimes get intimidated by our male counterparts, but what is important is to just be strong,” she says, adding that resource limitations pose another challenge.

The mother of three daughters went to Providence Secondary School in Mulanje before proceeding to study for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and later a Master’s degree in Strategic Management.

Before becoming a politician, she worked with the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Republic of Malawi, and at Kalondolondo, a project funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) under Plan Malawi.

Apart from being a politician, she is also a devout Christian who likes to preach the word of God in her constituency, at church and wherever she is called to minister.

The legislator observes that leadership has followed and grown with her, starting from her being sports captain in primary school; sports prefect in secondary school and class representative in college.When she worked at EU, she was the local staff representative.

 

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