By Mada Ziba:
President Lazarus Chakwera on Saturday hailed Chiwanja cha Ayao cultural event, saying it transcended cultural differences and united Malawians from all walks of life.
He was speaking at Mangochi stadium grounds in the district during the launch of Chiwanja cha Ayao cultural festival.
“Today’s event is very important because it shows that every culture plays a critical role in promoting oneness and national development.
“A nation which has factories, roads and different development projects but does not promote culture lacks morality.
“Without cultural differences, it would be easy to achieve national development and address challenges the people face if Malawians would embrace the spirit of oneness as evidenced by the gathering of many people from different walks of life for Chiwanja cha Ayao event,” said Chakwera.
The president said Malawi cannot achieve national development with the exclusion of the Yaos.
“Yao is one of the great cultures in Malawi and we cannot talk of Malawi’s history without mentioning the Yaos,” he said.
Responding to concerns of hunger among people in Mangochi, Chakwera promised to address the issue shortly.
“DODMA announced that they will start distributing food items on November 1, so, we only have a week to go,” he said.
On a different note, Chakwera then asked the chiefs to sort out chieftaincy differences amongst themselves, saying it was vital for development.
“Solutions to chieftaincy differences lie in your hands and not the President as perceived by some quarters,” he said.
He then commended the traditional leaders in the district for promoting efforts to end child marriages, promoting care for environments and encouraging parents to hold initiation ceremonies outside school terms.
The President then highlighted plans to construct Mangochi-Makanjira Road among other roads, adding that Mangochi and Salima were secondary cities whose development needed to be reprioritised.
In his remarks, Paramount Chief Kawinga said the Chiwanja cha Ayao was a neutral grouping aimed at promoting peace and development in the country.
“We live in peace and do not stand for any particular political party,” he said.
Kawinga said he would like to see young people from Mangochi and other districts benefitting from technical jobs as introduced by government through various projects.
He then called for co-existence among young people in the country.
“Every young person should live freely in any part of Malawi regardless of their cultural grouping,” said Kawinga.
The paramount chief then asked the Ministry of Local Government to revert to paying traditional leaders honorarium through district councils instead of paying them through banks.
He also asked government to start distributing maize among people in the district whom he said were currently facing hunger.
“If there is enough maize in stock, let me ask that food for work projects resume so that people can work and get paid so that they are able to buy food,” he said.
