Pres i d ent Lazar us Chakwera yesterday blended policy and playfulness during a live engagement with about 100 youths present at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe, where he unveiled plans for youth innovation grants in the 2025/26 National Budget.
The event, which was followed by many other youths on social media outlets, provided a platform for the youth to ask questions about the State of the Nation Address the President delivered in Parliament last Friday.
with the youth | State House
The event was filled with youthful energy and trendy greetings and Chakwera, who was donning a green casual traditional shirt and black trousers, reciprocated with equal vigour, switching among English and Chichewa and slang to connect with the crowd.
According to Chakwera, the move aims to empower young people to have access to financial resources and training.
He said: “We want to reduce bureaucratic hurdles. Malawi’s youth can lead agricultural transformation and entrepreneurial growth. Through these grants, we will provide training, loan guarantees and collateral.”
Chakwera added that the initiative is in partnership with some banks and micro-finance institutions.
When asked about his administration’s efforts to tackle corruption, particularly concerning discontinued cases and alleged corruption in obtaining passports and driver’s licences, Chakwera said the government had given autonomy to the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) and increased its funding.
He said: “We have given ACB independence to prosecute cases without political interference. We have
also enhanced coordination between the ACB, Judiciary and law enforcement agencies to fast-track prosecution of corruption cases, including high-profile ones. The continued prosecution of high-profile cases demonstrates that no one is above the law.”
However, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira was not convinced with Chakwera’s response.
In an interview, Kambwandira claimed that the event was organised to divert attention from the Sona.
According to him, Chakwera was supposed to take stock of promises he made to the youth in 2020 and point out what he has delivered.
During the event, Chakwera denounced men who desert their spouses after giving birth to a child with disabilities, describing the practice as unlawful, and urged the society to change.
He was addressing concerns raised by Linda Kalombola, a 16-year-old girl with disability from Kamuzu Barracks CDSS, who expressed concerns over fathers who abandon their families in such circumstances.
