Malawians, both young and old, Sunday braved the scorching heat of Lilongwe as they filled the 40,000-seater Bingu National Stadium to celebrate 61 years of the country’s independence.
Donning red, black, green and white attire, they sang, whistled and ululated as they celebrated the independence Malawi won from Britain on July 6, 1964.
The celebration was punctuated by a ‘trooping the flag’ display by the Malawi Defence Force, various traditional dances and a K9 dog display by the Malawi Police Service.
President Lazarus Chakwera and his Botswana counterpart, Duma Gideon Boko, presided over the celebrations, where the Malawi leader insisted that the work of rebuilding the country requires no shortcuts.
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Using the analogy of construction, Chakwera said every builder knows that the task of laying a foundation demands patience, not haste.
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He reiterated the need for a solid foundation in the process of reconstructing Malawi.
According to Chakwera, the job of rebuilding Malawi would be in vain if special attention is not given to the foundation.
Chakwera said Malawi cannot build a new nation without instilling the foundations of culture, hope, justice and peace.
He said a country where people do not value their traditions and culture does not develop, and that with a rotten cultural foundation, Malawi cannot move an inch forward because, even if authorities build roads, some bad individuals will come and destroy them.
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“Even if Malawi buys medicine, bad people will still steal it. Don’t smile at bad people,” Chakwera, who also spoke against the culture of craving free things and gossiping, said.
The President added that another crucial foundation in reconstructing Malawi is the foundation of hope, urging Malawians not to tolerate those who, he said, are hell-bent on taking away the country’s hope.
Among other things, Chakwera condemned the tendency among some compatriots to belittle everything good that comes from Malawi.
“If you are sick and have no hope of recovery, do you take medication? If a person is in school but has no hope of completing their studies, will that person work hard?
“If a person has faced challenges at work or in business but has no hope of getting another job or starting another business, will they have the strength to keep going? So, we must not expect to develop the country without the foundation of hope,” he said.
On his part, Boko said he has full trust and confidence that Chakwera’s leadership will lift Malawi to greater heights.
“When Malawi attained her independence on that day in July 1964, she asserted her right to self-determination and then began the first feeble and faltering steps, perhaps towards the construction of a sovereign nation state, Malawi.
“And so continued a tormented passage from where Malawi was, which continues today, and must take us from where Malawi is today to where Malawi ought to be,” Boko said.
He added that Malawi ought to be a prosperous and inclusive nation and that the country will get there.
“We must appreciate the endemic levels of poverty that still trouble the ordinary people of Malawi. We must commit ourselves to resolving these challenges because they only serve to test our worth and mettle as leaders,” Boko said.
The Botswana leader added that Africa is undergoing a revolution in which its people must always imagine a different and spectacularly new continent.
“We must also appreciate that as Africans, we must see ourselves in each other through the lens of a shared vision. Botswana and Malawi are well on the path of cementing the deep friendship that exists between the two nations,” he said.
Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee for the celebrations, Homeland Security Minister Ezekiel Ching’oma, said this year’s celebrations stand as a powerful testament to a renewed spirit of unity, resilience and patriotism “flowing through the hearts of all Malawians”.
“Most importantly, this anniversary of our independence underscores our resolve as a nation to change the trajectory of our country by reinforcing the foundations of rebuilding that Your Excellency has been laying since June 2020.
“Despite the many trials and challenges that have tested you, Your Excellency, and our nation over the past five years, our collective resolve to build a stable, prosperous and inclusive Malawi remains steadfast and unshaken,” Ching’oma said.
Malawi marked its 61st Independence anniversary amid several challenges that cast a shadow over the celebrations.
Many analysts argue that the country has experienced stagnation in terms of development, with issues such as persistent poverty, economic instability, corruption and inadequate infrastructure continuing to hinder progress.
