President Lazarus Chakwera has challenged Malawians to become job creators and to work hard, saying the time of rewarding lazy people is over.
Speaking in Lilongwe during the Chakwera inauguration ceremony, Chakwera said people in the country should work hard.
“The time of giving free handouts and rewarding noise makers and hand-clappers who are too lazy to work is past. We have a country to build and not a moment to waste. So, let’s all get to work,” said Chakwera.
He then urged Malawians to take part in the building of a new Malawi, saying no new Malawi must be built except that which is built by Malawians.
Chakwera added that the collective ownership of Malawi’s problems and collective participation in fixing them is the bedrock of the Tonse philosophy.
He said the one million jobs his government has promised do not just mean that the government will create programs to employ people, but also that it will challenge people to stop seeing themselves as job seekers and start seeing themselves as job creators.
“When we promise to ensure that every household is able to eat three meals a day, we do not just mean that we will give you cheap fertilizer to increase food production, but also that we will challenge you to work three times as hard in your fields as before.
“When we promise to increase your earnings, we do not just mean that we will increase the minimum wage and remove income taxes for those at the bottom of Malawi’s pay scale, but also that we will challenge you make yourself competitive in the workplace.
When we promise to build new homes with a solid roof, electricity, and tap water, we do not just mean that we will bring investors to make this happen, but also that we will challenge you to work towards owning that home,” said Chakwera.
