Still in the spirit of commemorating Malawi’s 60th independence anniversary, the country has the potential to develop if Malawians are united in resilience.
As such, we need to promote unity and social dialogue by, among other things, embracing the spirit of tolerance and forgiveness.
That means those who are in authority have to strive to fend off alleged elements of favouritism, bias and nepotism so that other sections of the society should not feel sidelined or discriminated against.
For example, aledged reports of some senior public officers reportedly being dismissed or discriminated against for being sympathetic to an opposition political party are quite disturbing.
Such incidences, and many others, have the potential to sow seeds of disunity. Furthermore, they could dent the country’s image and reputation.
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It is possible for Malawians be united in resilience.
In that regard, the government should promote inclusive economic empowerment policies to foster economic growth and opportunities in order to reduce inequalities and promote stability.
Yes, it is possible for Malawians to be united in resilience. We need to create an environment where there are sustainable mechanisms for conflict resolution.
Yes, conflicts are unavoidable in any nation. It is how leadership manages such conflicts that matters.
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Conflicts—no matter how petty they may appear— can, if not well managed, escalate to levels that could hamper unity and development or even scare away foreign investors.
Unity in resilience is not a once-off event. It is a continuous process that requires more civic education and public awareness.
As alluded to earlier, indeed, Malawians have to be united in resilience.
Let us have shared values and goals.
Being aware of our common set of values could help in bringing unity as well as fostering a sense of national identity.
This, naturally, calls for mindset change.
That is why I consider it fortunate that the country has the Malawi 2063 vision.
In it, Mindset Change as enabler number one. Under this enabler, engagement of visionary and transformative leadership, patriotism, religious values, integrity, hard work, self-reliance and positivity have been singled out as catalysts for mindset transformation.
The part I like the most reads: “….As Malawians, we denounce our hitherto attitude of dependency on donors and handouts, materialism and self-accumulation through corrupt practices. We will instead embrace and commit to self-discipline, self-initiative and self-dependency.”
This is on page 24.
The question is, Are we walking the talk?
