I keep promises – Mutharika

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Peter Mutharika
Mutharika: This is a transformation.

President Peter Mutharika has said that he always do what he promises Malawians.

The president made the remarks at Kamuzu Palace in Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe during conclusion of the national identity cards mass registration campaign.

In his remarks, Mutharika said the whole process is aimed at transforming the country and fulfilling what he promises Malawians as always.

“Today, we are here to make history. For the first time ever, Malawi has a legal identification system. Every Malawian now has a National Identity Card. This is a transformation.

“The National Identity Card was my promise to the people of Malawi. I have always said I promise what I do and I do what I promise,” Mutharika said.

Malawi’s head of state also thanked Malawians for welcoming the whole initiative.

“When I initiated legislation of the Act in 2009 in my capacity as Minister of Justice, everyone said this is not possible. But we have done it.

“Today our promise is reality. Our dream is happening. I want to thank the people of Malawi for receiving this programme with enthusiasm. When we called upon the nation to register, the response was overwhelming,” the Malawi leader said.

Mutharika also revealed that the mass project has beaten its target of nine million due to willingness of Malawians to register.

“We targeted to register 9 million Malawians in the mass registration exercise. We have beaten our target because every Malawian wants to have an identity card. Over 9 million people are now ready to receive their legal identity by the end of December,” Mutharika said.

“The National Registration and Identification System has an overall total of 9,168,689 (Nine million, one hundred sixty-eight thousand, six hundred and eighty-nine) Malawians. All these will receive their National Identity Cards,” he added.

According to Mutharika, today the mass registration has been closed but people will continue registering.

“Today, we are announcing that we closed mass registration. But it’s only mass registration that is closed. We are not closing registration. There will be continuous registration in progress at all times,” Mutharika said.

The mass registration project was supported by European Union, DFID, USAID, Royal Norwegian Embassy and Irish Aid.