President Lazarus Chakwera has called for national unity to confront deep-rooted vices that have long hindered Malawi’s development, including laziness, ignorance, jealousy, poverty and disease.
Speaking yesterday at the 2025 Umhlangano wa Maseko Ngoni cultural ceremony at Mkolimbo Village in Ntcheu District, Chakwera emphasized that these challenges cannot be tackled in isolation and require a collective national response.
Chikuse’s tomb. I State House Press Office
He said: “When we talk about jealousy, we cannot say it is not an enemy. However, what is important is to know that this is an enemy that knows how best to hide and it comes in all sorts of forms.”
The President said some of the vices are also important to be addressed from the individual level, stressing that some are deeply entrenched in them, as such, they have been normalised.
He said since some of the vices have been normalised, they have divided Malawians when in essence, they are supposed to be united for the common good of developing the nation.
“As a country that is gradually moving forward, there is need that we deal with some of these vices because we cannot keep normalising them. We need to move forward as a country,” he said.
“We cannot talk about developments in the health sector, for example, when we are divided as a country that is the warm heart of Africa. We need unity for the development of our country. We only have one Malawi which we need to love.”
Commenting on the annual cultural ceremony, Chakwera said such ceremonies are important in bringing people together. He said culture plays an integral role in ensuring there is unity and that it needs to be fostered.
In her speech, Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule said culture is important on the basis that it gives authenticity. She said culture is not all about song and dance, but it pertains to courage and identity.
“Without culture, our authenticity as people of a nation will be severely compromised,” said Kamtukule.
“While culture passes down indigenous knowledge, it is also supposed to be respected.”
But the minister warned that culture must not be diluted in the emergence of technological advancements, citing technological innovations like Artificial Intelligence.
Kamtukule, who spoke prior to the President’s address, said there must be effective ways of ensuring how culture and such technological advancements can easily blend.
In his remarks, Inkosi Gomani 5 said culture is important; hence, stressed that it needs to be celebrated.
“Culture gives people their identity; it tells people where they are coming from and where they are going. Celebrating culture is, therefore, very important,” he said.
