Mutharika’s speech during commemoration of Police National day: Full text

It is with great pleasure and profound happiness that I stand here this morning to celebrate the 93rd  anniversary of the Malawi Police Service with you all.May I from the outset take  this opportunity to wish all the officers of the Malawi Police Service  and their families a happy National Police Day.

Coincidentally,  today we are also celebrating Mothers’ Day. May I wish all mothers in Malawi a happy Mothers’ Day.  I pray that God may give all women, particularily mothers, strength, good health and long life; Malawian women are strong, they  form a solid foundation of  our nation.  Whether it is  at family, village, community or national level, in church or political party, women form  the very fabric of that coming together of people.

It is not a coincidence that Mother’s Day should be celebrated on the same day with the National Police Day. Both are of great significance to us.  A mother is our first haven of security, peace and rest. So too is the Police.

Inspector General, Ladies and Gentlemen ,

For many years the Malawi Police Service has not held these celebrations. I am informed that the last time such an event was held is 37 years ago.  For some unexplained reason the Malawi Police Service had departed from international police practice of commemorating this day.  I am a firm believer in us being able to  celebrate who we are.  A people that does not  acknowledge themselves easily lose purpose.  It is for this reason that my government thought it was time  once more that our police officers can spend a day celebrating who they are.  This will give them a sense of pride.  It will remind them of their professional calling to such a noble duty of policing.  The pride with which they marched this morning should characterised the way they carry themselves on a daily basis.

I desire to see officers of the Malawi Police Service demonstrating confidence in public.  I want to see police officers that are friendly and courteous towards the public yet at the same time firm with  law breakers.  Officers that do not compromise the security of the country at any cost.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The voice of Malawians about issues of safety and security is very clear. So too is my government’s commitment to issues of security. I am very concerned with the state of security in this country as it is having a negative impact on the economic development of our country. To this effect i would like to assure the Malawi nationa that my government will do all it can  to ascertain that all residents of Malawi, whether in urban or rural areas are secure everywhere they are. I would like to assure the malawi nation that the police will make sure that law and order is  maintained in this country.

As we celebrate 93 years of your existence remember that you shoulder the responsibility  of making sure that our chidren should live their  lives without fear; fear of being attacked, molested or defiled. Our women should be free to walk anytime, any place without the fear of any violation or abuse. I am particulary concerned with the safety of women and children, let us protect them at all costs. I am also concerned with the safety and security of investors and their investments whether it is a Malawian investor or foreign, their investment must be safe.  Farmers in the rural areas should once more be able to grow crops and breed livestock.

Inspector General,The police is there to provide for the protection of  our people.  This will  call for patriotism on your part, it  will call for commitment and dedication to duty. It will  call for discpline and single mindedness. I am pledging my government’s  support to the Malawi Police  Service.  The procurement of 50 vehicles and some public order  equipment is just the begining of  a long journey that my government  will undertake to revitalize the security sector in this country.    I am aware of a wide range of challenges that are affecting your ability to deliver service to our people such as poor housing and office accommodation, lack of reliable transport, inadequate uniforms, lack of modern telecommunication equipment and forensic support to policing amongst others.

May I assure you that my government  is loooking at ways of quickly addressing these challenges to make the Police as efficient as possible. Finally, as Commander In-Chief of the Malawi Police Service, I am committed to  a Malawi Police Service that provides quality service to its clients courteously and responsively to the public needs.  I aspire to have a Malawi Police Service that is result oriented and that is an organization of excellence. I therefore, invite all rank and file of the Malawi Police Service to serve our great nation with dedication, loyalty and integrity.

Let us strive to uphold the honour  bestowed upon us by members of the public by displaying exemplary conduct and discpline in order to maintain public trust and confidence in our actions.  Let us all work hard in all our endevors to promote safety and security in our country, making our country conducive to the promotion of social, economic, environmental, technological and political development that we so much desire to attain.

I thank you all for your attention. May God bless Malawi and May He bless us all.

• Prof Peter Mutharika is President of Malawi

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