Malawians, Africans must develop, control their own news stories and development agenda
By Janet Karim
Sing and rejoice O Daughter of Zion; for behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. – Zechariah 2:10
The LORD answered me: “Write down the vision, write it clearly (plainly) on clay tablets so whoever reads it can run and tell others. — (EXB)
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard…… – Luke 1:13
In the last few columns, the conversation has been of the joy in my heart as it should be in every African, that Malawi and other African nations are during this decade commemorating the 60th anniversary of independence. The tale of Africa, and my own Malawi that shows brightly that the former colonies are held captive by the former colonial masters. Malawi and various African countries are being directed even by the thoughts and utterances of the intelligentsia, with a few voices on social media uttering Afro-centric, anti-west news items. Malawians, Africans must develop, control their own news stories and development agenda. At the same time they should acknowledge the heroes of development taking place here, that is started and directed by Malawians or Africans.
A recent post in social media and hitting the airwaves and front pages of Malawi’s media highlighted a US State Department notice of citizens that, due to alleged corrupt dealings, were informed that they are banned from entering the United States. One news internet based media interviewed Malawi’s leader. The Malawi social media was awash with ridicules of the outbursts by the State President.
Concern must be raised when foreign entities, government, or civil societies attack our governing entities, including the state president. As a Malawian, one does not have to like or support the president, vice president, or any other persons in leadership, but one does have to out of patriotic belonging to this nation, be repelled when that outsider attacks our leaders.
Sadly, this is not the case with Malawians. I am reminded of David who took five stones and killed the giant Goliath with one stone; what would have happened if David gave the remaining four to Goliath’s army? This is how Malawians are reacting by ridiculing their leader; they choose to join the adversaries of our nation and heap stones to the president, the person who is out there looking out for 22 million people. Malawians, protect the Presidency (President, and Vice President).
Another annoying placard rolling down the boulevards of western countries: Africa is poor and lacks development. On our part, many Malawians feel cheated by the government that there is a lack of development. To these Malawians, the wise sage says to them, stop thinking the way we were programmed to think: Zonse zimene n’zaKamuzu Banda! (Everything belongs to Kamuzu!).
Every time honest analysts look at the leaps Malawi continues to make, there are many Malawians who, after voting in general elections, go about their role of “doing their part to add to the development of the nation.” These numerous big and small blocks are leading to the country inching into the development that even the western nations went through.
Leading the pack of developers are Shepherd Bushiri whose relief work has included providing helicopters and food distribution vans and tents. This is on top of providing spiritual upliftment for Malawian congregants. Ironically, when in 2020 he fled South Africa (hounded by corrupt policing that was extorting money from him), Malawians shouted to send him back to South Africa; a person that effortlessly turned into the Good Neighbor at every natural or manmade disasters.
Another religious person (the churches in Malawi have come forward in a variety of ways) is Father Claude Bouche Chisale, who in 1976 established the Kungoni Center for culture and arts in Dedza. The Mua Mission (as it is called), through Fr. Bouse is researching, recording and preserving Malawi culture. The center celebrates the wealth of Malawi’s culture. While other attempts have ventured into similar undertakings, none have reached the height Fr. Bouche’s Kungoni Center.
Another leader is Thom Mpinganjira, who has built a department store in the heart of Blantyre, following the lead of other department stores like Chitawira Superstores. He established a security company that provides Malawians with trained security personnel, security for his department stores, and most important, employment. But Mpinganjira became a full scale development magnet when he built a cancer center, in loving memory of his wife. He’s providing food and commodities for Malawians, healing for Malawians diagnosed with cancer, who are no longer needing to travel outside Malawi for treatment.
Former President Joyce Banda is going throughout the country building homes; this is the successor to other projects the former president is involved in, establishing schools for girls, orphans, and helping businesspeople start and give training to young entrepreneurs.
On their part the diaspora throughout the first world and elsewhere, are turning to their country to provide mostly health-related tours into Malawi. One diaspora-led undertaking is of the dentists in the US that have made repeated visits that not only provide professional health care, but also implements and machinery.
Although news networks like Aljazeera has been providing news that had not been tainted with western lenses, lately, there has been a rise of internet-based news mediums, in their small ways are painting a narrative on Africa that mirrors a vibrant African continent, that dances and celebrates when an African leader pushes back western or European interference in the running of the continent. There were numerous celebrations in newsrooms of the youth-run media, when the French ambassador was told to leave Niger.
There is an enormous need for African nations, especially Malawi, to raise voices that mirror positively the efforts Africans are making in the extremely porous socio-eco political global-sphere, where the enemies of Africa are weighing down the continent. Let us support our leaders, celebrate our people, and make positive mention of our efforts.
A call to Malawi, African to remain standing, remain united, remain resolute to succeed.
