Mutharika's Golden Jubilee Speech Final

8/12/2019 Mutharika's Golden Jubilee Speech Final

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REPUBLIC OF MALAWI

SPEECH BY

HIS EXCELLENCY PROF. ARTHUR PETER

MUTHARIKA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

OF MALAWI

DURING THE

GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

THEME:

Commemorating 50 years of Independence:

Transforming our country with a shared

vision, renewed commitment to hard work

and integrity for sustainable development.

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CIVO STADIUM, LILONGWE

6TH

JULY, 2014

Excellencies Heads of State and

Governments;

The Vice President of the Republic of

Malawi, Right Honourable Saulos

Chilima;

Speaker of the National Assembly,

Right Honourable Richard Msowoya,

MP;

Your Ladyship, the Chief Justice

Honourable Anastasia Msosa;

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Honourable Cabinet Ministers and

Deputy Ministers present here;

The Commander of the Malawi

Defence Force, General Ignasio

Maulana;

The Inspector General of Police, Mr.

Loti Dzonzi;

Justices of the High Court and the

Supreme Court of Appeal;

Your Excellences, former Presidents

of the Republic of Malawi;

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The Leader of Opposition,

Honourable Dr. Lazarus Chakwera;

Honourable Members of Parliament;

Leaders of Political Parties

Represented in Parliament;

Your Excellency, Madam Thandiwe

Dumbutchena, Dean Of the

Diplomatic Corps and Heads Of

Diplomatic Missions;

Acting Chief Secretary to the

Government;

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The Chief Executive of Lilongwe City

Council;

Distinguished Invited Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

My fellow Malawians, today is a very

important day in the history of ourcountry as we commemorate 50 years of

independence under the theme:

"Transforming our nation with a

shared vision and renewed

commitment to hard work and

integrity for sustainable development."

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On 6thJuly, 1964 Malawi got its

independence from Britain, signaling a

new era for Malawi. This is an important

day for all Malawians because we are

celebrating that we have not only attained

50 years of independence but also 50

years of peace, stability, progress and

prosperity. It is a day when, as a nation,

we are reflecting on how we have

performed over the past 50 years and how

we would like to move forward together in

the next 50 years and beyond.

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Let us all celebrate this day because we

have every reason to do so. We have to

celebrate because of the remarkable

progress we have achieved over the years.

Indeed we need to celebrate because,

among other things, 50 years ago, we did

not have some of the hospitals we have

today; 50 years ago we did not have some

of the roads we have today; 50 years ago,

we did not have a single public university,

let alone private ones; and most

importantly, 50 years ago we did not have

the democracy we have today. Standards

of living have increased remarkably, and

there has also been a notable drop in

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inequality. In terms of human

development, using Millennium

Development Goal (MDG) indicators, the

country ranks among the top 20

performers, in relation to both absolute

and relative progress. This is something

worth celebrating.

Since Malawi became an independent

state, the country has continued to be an

island of peace and calm, law and order

which have been essential for the

countrys growth. The first President of

Malawi, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda,

appealed to Malawians for hard work,

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peace and unity. We heeded his call and

the country registered growth in various

sectors of development. The country has

also continued to be an island of peace in

Africa.

Of course, my fellow Malawians, we owe

the development we have registered over

the years not only to ourselves, but also to

our development partners. I, therefore, on

behalf of all Malawians, thank all

development partners who have helped us

ever since we became independent and

continue to help us, in the development of

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our country. I want them to know that

Malawi is highly indebted to them.

Despite the many achievements we have

registered, we are faced with as many

challenges as one can imagine. Our

country is still one of the least developed

countries in the world. Our health and

education systems are on the verge of

collapse, HIV/AIDS continues to threaten

our nations development. Our economy is

in a sorry state and, in general,

Malawians are on average poorer than

they were in 1964. We must, therefore,

ask ourselves what has gone wrong?

What is it that we were supposed to do

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that we did not do properly or not done

that resulted in our country sliding

backwards? One of our challenges has

been the disconnect between policy and

practice. We have had good policy

documents gathering dust on shelves.

This must stop. In fact, most of the

policies were transitory and often brought

short-term successes that could not bring

about sustained growth and poverty

reduction.

Fellow Malawians, we must take collective

responsibility for our failures and

shortfalls as a nation. However, these

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weaknesses should not make us despair

because the future is not bleak. All we

need to do is learn from our past mistakes

and resolve to do better as we strive to

take our country to greater heights. As I

said in my inaugural speech last month,

today, we begin another leg of 50 years.

My fellow Malawians, the next 50 years of

our journey presents us with an

opportunity to reset our priorities, rethink

our strategic focus, redefine Malawi, and

make it very progressive.

My fellow Malawians, we need to

transform our country from being a

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predominantly importing and consuming

country to a predominantly producing

and exporting country; we must create

sufficient substantive jobs and new

wealth for our people; our country must

be food self-sufficient; our country must

transform the agricultural primary

commodities, other raw materials and

minerals into value. At 50 today, we must

strive for economic and development

independence.

My fellow Malawians, the independence,

freedom, peace and stability we are

enjoying and celebrating today did not

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come on a silver platter. Some of our

compatriots sacrificed their lives for it. It

is that spirit of dedicated service and

sincere sacrifice that we celebrate here, a

spirit that likewise burned within our

forefathers as they fought for our freedom

50 years ago.

Lest we forget: Malawi, Nyasaland then,

was a British colony. In 1953, the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

was formed despite African opposition.

This meant that the British Government

had virtually transferred its protectorate

responsibility over Nyasaland to white

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settlers of Southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe). However, African resistance to

the federation, spearheaded by the then

Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia (now

Zambia) forced the British Government to

shelve the idea of federation. Eventually,

Malawi received self-Governance in 1963

with Kamuzu Banda, who, in 1958

returned home from Ghana to lead in the

struggle against colonialism, as Prime

Minister, and on 6 July, 1964 Malawi

became an independent state with Dr.

Kamuzu Banda, as its first President. In

1966 Malawi became a Republic. My

fellow Malawians, whether one likes or

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not, Kamuzu Banda was a visionary

leader who laid a solid foundation for the

countrys social and economic

development despite ruling with an iron

fist.

In 1992 Malawians expressed

dissatisfaction with the increasingly

autocratic rule of the Malawi Congress

Party under President Dr. Hastings

Kamuzu Banda and in March 1992, the

Catholic Bishops wrote a pastoral letter

denouncing Kamuzus disregard for

human rights. This led to struggle for

political pluralism led by some key

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figures, including the late Chakufwa

Chihana, who was jailed for speaking

openly against Dr. Hastings Kamuzu

Banda. Pressure for multiparty democracy

mounted and Kamuzu consequently

called for a referendum in June 1993,

during which Malawians voted in favour of

multiparty democracy. And on 17 May

1994, Malawians went to the polls to vote

in the first ever multi party Parliamentary

and Presidential Elections and His

Excellency, Dr. Bakili Muluzi, was elected

president of the first multi-party

government after 30 years of attaining our

independence.

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My fellow Malawians, the struggle did notend with the May 1994 elections.

Malawians have been trying to perfect

their independence through democratic

elections that saw the country being led

by Their Excellencies Dr. Bakili Muluzi

from 1994 to 2004; Prof. Bingu Wa

Mutharika from 2004 to 2012 (May His

Soul Rest in Eternal Peace), Dr. Joyce

Banda through the constitution from

2012 to 2014; and now you have me.

My fellow Malawians, from the history of

the struggle for independence, then the

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introduction and experience of multiparty

democracy; I want us now to draw a

number of lessons, things which are

necessary ingredients for the further

social, economic and political development

of our country:

First ispatriotism. This is the love for

ones country to the extent that one is

prepared to serve his/her country with

complete devotion, diligence and complete

sacrifice of personal comfort. From the

struggle for independence through to the

1993 referendum it is evident that many

people sacrificed their lives for the love of

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right to do things in the manner they

pleased; as a result chaos and anarchy

became the order of the day in the first

years of democratic Malawi. The culture of

not respecting the rule of law has become

the order of the day. We have become a

nation where even simple traffic rules are

being ignored, people are able to embezzle

government resources including

medicines in hospitals with little or

virtually no regard to life. Therefore, as we

embark on a journey of another 50 years

or more, I wish to appeal for discipline

because it is essential for the nation to

achieve remarkable prosperity. We need

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discipline at every level of our society. The

transformation journey is for all

Malawians to embark on and the time is

now.

My fellow Malawians, there is an old

adage which says, united we stand,

divided we fall. As individuals we cannot

be strong and manage the difficult task

that lies ahead of our country. Therefore,

unity is a very important aspect that has

seen this country move to what it is today.

The freedom fighters managed to win

independence for this country because

they were united in the struggle against

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British rule.Unity of purposeis what we

have learnt from the leaders who have

ruled this country since independence.

Unity of purpose is undoubtedly a critical

ingredient for the development of our

country.

Fellow Malawians, we need to embark on

a journey of transforming our country to

greater prosperity in the next 50 years

with absolutehonesty and integrity. We

should always place honesty and integritybefore anything else. While we

commemorate 50 years of independence

we must learn to be decent,

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straightforward and sincere in whatever

we say and in what we do.

Fellow Malawians,Courageis another

important character we must learn today.

As the freedom fighters played their part

to win us independence from colonial

bondage, we should play our part without

any hesitation, whatsoever, even when

undertaking our daily chores.

My fellow Malawians, a true Malawian

should be able to offerself-sacrifice. The

privileged must be able to offer themselves

to undertake some selfless assignments

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on behalf of the less fortunate so that we

move forward together as a united nation.

That is what serving the country and our

local communities is all about. Dr.

Hastings Kamuzu Banda, for instance,

had to abandon his job as a medical

doctor in Ghana to fight for the liberation

of his country. We must all have the same

spirit as we strive to take this country to

greater prosperity. I therefore call on all

those professionals in and outside Malawi

to put the countrys interest first. Come

back home and contribute to the

development of mother Malawi.

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Another character worth emulating from

the history of Malawi and as we commit

ourselves to transforming Malawi to

sustainable development, ishard work.

Hard work is the key to the development

of the country. I would, therefore, like to

encourage every Malawian to be hard

working if we are to truly transform our

country from poverty to prosperity.

Democracy does not mean that everything

that we want will fall on our heads like

Manna from heaven. Development willcome through hard work and involvement

of everyone. Malawi is slowly becoming a

country of high dependency. We need to

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abandon the culture of expecting

Government to do everything for us.

President Kennedy once said think not

for what your country can do for you but

what you can do for your country". Indeed

think nothing for me without me.

My fellow Malawians, as we commemorate

50 years of independence, we must first of

all remember we are sons and daughters

of Malawi. We must remember that

Malawi is our motherland. We need to put

the destiny of this country into our own

hands. As I said during my State of the

Nation Address, these celebrations have

set our development agenda for the next

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fifty years and beyond. We need, as a

nation, to realize that this is a befitting

moment for us to look back and reflect on

our successes and challenges so that we

can reposition ourselves for a great future.

I have no doubt that we will seize this

moment to reassert ourselves and act

with greater determination and vigour to

achieve fundamental transformation of

our country.

Fellow Malawians, it is sad to note that

after 50 years of independence, a large

proportion of our people still live in abject

poverty. It is sad to note that the majority

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of our youth remain jobless and many of

our people do not know where their next

meal will come from; and our

infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired.

Our country will realize meaningful and

sustainable development if, and only if, we

rededicate ourselves to hard work, peace

and unity.

It is the mission of the DPP-led

government that we facilitate the instilling

of self-confidence and sense of socio-

economic independence of Malawians, by

creating a conducive environment for hard

work, creating more sustainable jobs,

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redistributing incomes and increasing the

supply of quality goods and services for

the domestic and international markets. If

we do this, we will definitely take our

country on a right track to greater

prosperity.

My fellow Malawians, I will be failing in

my duty as sitting Head of State and

Government if I do not acknowledge the

great contributions that my predecessors

Excellencies late Ngwazi Dr. Hastings

Kamuzu Banda, Dr. Bakili Muluzi, late

Ngwazi Prof. Bingu Wa Mutharika, and

Dr. Joyce Banda. These led our nation

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through different trying times. Today I call

on you all to stand by me and support the

DPP-led government as we take the nation

on a new development path that will leave

a mark for the next half century and

beyond.

In conclusion, my fellow Malawians, let

me once again confirm my governments

commitment to work with, and for, all

people of Malawi regardless of their

geographical regions, origin, race, creed or

colour so as to develop one nation. We will

work together for the common good of all

our people. Let me also guarantee you

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that my government will work towards

protecting the rights of our people by

combating corruption and upholding the

rule of law in every aspect of governance.

This, I believe, is the greatest tribute we

can give to the many who have fought for

our freedom, ensuring that the Malawi

people will have to rise from poverty,

injustice and oppression. While we know

that much remains to be done, I believe

our vision is within reach. Just as we have

shown in the past that meaningful change

can be achieved, that trust in government

can be restored and that by treading the

straight path to progress together we can

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overturn decades of neglect and mis-

governance, I know that working together

we can collectively achieve our shared

inspirations for our nation.

I thank you for your attention and wish

you happy 50thIndependence Anniversary

celebrations.

May the almighty God bless our Nation.

I thank you.

Mutharika's Golden Jubilee Speech Final

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