Former president Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda was devoted to national development. He had a unique vision in as far as development was concerned.
He envisioned a Malawi that would be a better place to live for every citizen, regardless of tribe.
It is not wrong to call him a development-oriented leader, let alone a statesman. A statesman is a vastly cherished and high-ranking leader who is dutiful to public service.
An American author, reverend and slavery abolitionist James Freeman Clarke, who lived between 1810 and 1888, observed that a politician thinks of the next election, while the statesman thinks of the next generation.
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Kamuzu belonged to the latter because he dedicated his whole political life to laying a concrete foundation for future generations.
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He had no time to seek revenge on the Whites who ruled this country harshly. Instead, Kamuzu dedicated his time to developing the country for future generations. He built hospitals and schools across the country.
He established the University of Malawi (Unima) in 1974 by opening Chancellor College and ensured that no deserving student should fail to access tertiary education.
At that time, there were few economic activities among Malawians, so most parents could not afford to pay fees for their children at university. Kamuzu’s government introduced university loans for students.
This enabled many Malawians, regardless of their financial background, to access tertiary education, and the majority of former Unima students are in various positions in both the civil service and the private sector, contributing to the economy and development of the country.
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Kamuzu transferred the capital city of the country from Zomba to Lilongwe, a move which led to the easy and speedy expansion of the capital city.
Kamuzu did not want to walk alone on the development journey, so he encouraged Malawians to work hard in whatever they did.
He built four cornerstones of obedience, loyalty, unity and discipline to ensure that Malawians followed his path in development.
The discipline that Kamuzu instilled in people helped them to be development-oriented too. Kamuzu was a strong leader; he did not entertain nonsense. He ensured that there was discipline among the people.
It was this discipline that made most Malawians hard workers and people who feared crime.
Kamuzu’s approach to discipline was in line with what the Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, said: “What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions.”
Kamuzu also worked hard to establish structures that would provide services to the public, considering that the private sector was not vibrant when the country gained independence from the colonial masters. For example, he established statutory corporations which remain relevant today.
On agriculture, Kamuzu did not just formulate good policies, but he also had farms. This encouraged Malawians to follow suit, and farming became a practice adopted by many.
No wonder cases of hunger were rare compared to the post- Kamuzu regime era.
Some leaders have emulated Kamuzu’s style of leadership. The late president Bingu wa Mutharika was a leader who was close to Kamuzu in terms of visionary leadership.
Bingu emulated some of the traits that Kamuzu Banda possessed. For example, both Kamuzu and Bingu promoted equality in education.
Both of them also worked hard to promote education through infrastructure. Kamuzu established Unima while Bingu brought the Malawi University of Science and Technology.
