President Lazarus Chakwera says Malawi is in ruins and his government’s first task in building a new Malawi is clearing the rubble of corruption, nepotism, donor dependency and laziness.
Chakwera said this during the inauguration ceremony today. The inauguration ceremony took place at Kamuzu Barracks after being moved from the Bingu International Stadium due to increase in cases of COVID-19.
In his remarks, Chakwera said there is need to clear the rubble of corruption for it has left taxes in ruin, to clear the rubble of regionalism for it has left the country’s nationhood in ruin and to clear the rubble of impunity for it has left governance institutions in ruin.
“We must clear the rubble of passivism, for it has left our rights in ruins; we must clear the rubble of donor dependency, for it has left our dignity in ruins; we must clear the rubble of regionalism, for it has left our nationhood in ruins; we must clear the rubble of negativity, for it has left our resolve in ruins; we must clear the rubble of impunity, for it has left our governance institutions in ruins; and we must clear the rubble of unprofessionalism and incompetence, for it has left our services in ruins.
“The ruining of national treasures of both nature and state is a sin of my generation that I am bound by God to confess and bound by you to correct,” said Chakwera.
He, however, warned that in order to heal Malawi’s fractured nation and governance system over the next five years, Malawians must have the courage to face and endure the pain of systemic surgery as well as the courage to inflict necessary pains on the fractured attitudes and actions of people.
He added that building a new Malawi will have to be a team effort every step of the way hence the Judiciary, Parliament, Civil Society Organizations (NGOs), developmental partners as well as the citizens should take responsibility.
“The collective ownership of our problems and collective participation in fixing them is the bedrock of our Tonse philosophy. When we promise to create 1 million jobs, we do not just mean that we will create programs to employ you, but also that we will challenge you stop seeing yourself as a job seeker and start seeing yourself as a job creator.
“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.
“The Tonse philosophy is not a campaign gimmick, but a governing philosophy that says: we either build together or crumble together,” Said Chakwera.
He then commended the media, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) and all Malawians for their courage saying their actions helped him as went on to win the 23 June, 2020 fresh presidential Elections.
