Don’t allow anyone to demean you based on political affiliation—Chakwera

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has challenged the nation not to allow anyone to treat any Malawian as irrelevant to the development of the nation on account of their age, gender, region, tribe, and political affiliation.

Chakwera observed that it had become fashionable in the recent times to give all the credit or cast all the blame on the government and its officials.

He made the sentiments in Mangochi on Saturday when he graced the Golden and Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Diocese of Mangochi.

Chakwera challenged Malawians to resist the culture of self-demeaning, saying it encourages and reinforces the false perception that the only people who matter and contribute to the development of Malawi are those in public office.

“As the scriptures were being read this morning, I was struck by the four things Saint Paul tells Timothy to ensure never to tolerate. He tells him never to tolerate the dismissal of his relevance, the disgracing of his character, the disregard of his duty, and the disuse of his gifts,” said the President, urging Malawians to reject the dismissal of the relevance of any citizen to the development of Malawi.

President Chakwera disclosed that he graces such functions to affirm the critical and indispensable role that others, who are not public officials, have in the development of the country.

He stressed that if the vision of an inclusively wealthy self-reliant industrialized upper middle-income economy as spelled out in Malawi 2063 is going to be achieved, every Malawian must have every hand to the plow, whether in government, the church, or the private sector.

“We must move away from the popular mindset that some people are producers of our national wealth and others are only beneficiaries thereof. We must insist that everyone who wants to enjoy and be included in the prosperity of Malawi must contribute to it by their hard work, their industry, and their innovation.

“And that includes those entering the priestly service of the church. No one should be looked down upon as irrelevant to the progress of our nation. Every citizen matters, including those who disagree with us,” he said.

“To be Malawian is to abandon our self-interests in order to be together in times of celebration and suffering, not to watch idly as our neighbours suffer. This is our character as a nation, and we must practice it and protect it as a credible reflection of our values.”

At this point, President Chakwera asked Malawians to continue praying for Malawi, to continue pointing our faith towards God, to continue being the conscience of the nation by showing them where they need to make corrections, to continue teaching us to give credit to God for the things we would not have without him, and to continue taking a stand against the attempts to bring foreign values here that promote godlessness.

“In the same breath, I want to thank Your Lordships for your kindness in remembering me on special occasions like this one, and I do not take your invitation to this sacred ceremony for granted.

“Your invitation has afforded me the chance to join the Mangochi Diocese in celebrating the milestone of its Golden Jubilee and ordaining its deacons as priests of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Congratulations are in order, and I thank you all for affording me a chance to say a few words on this momentous occasion,” he said.