Malawi President Mutharika Calls for ‘Calm, Peace’ Amid Riots

By Fostina Mkandawire

Malawi President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika on Tuesday called upon members of the clergy, Traditional Leaders and Civil Society organizations to unite in bringing peace in the country.

Mutharika was speaking at the official ground-breaking ceremony of the precursed $90million Secondary Education Expansion For Development (SEED) program Kawale Community Day Secondary School and later in the day  at Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Lilongwe.

The President’s call comes amid political tension in the country since May 21 elections which has seen some people violently demonstrating against his victory as declared by MEC.

Mutharika said it was high time the country united to develop the country inspite of political differences.

He said destroying the country in the name of punishing him, was not a good idea because the country does not belong to him but to all Malawians.

He said Malawians should love one another, because they are one, and that they are all God’s Children.

He said demolishing shops, schools, and torching cars will not solve anything rather it will only retard the country.

“Destroying roads, schools, hospitals and other people’s houses will not solve anything in the country, rather we should unite and forget our differences,” he said.

Through the SEED project with Financial assistance from USAID, 250 schools will be constructed across the country.

Mutharika said it would be sad to see people destroying the newly constructed schools and therefore warned everyone with ill intentions to avoid such malicious acts.

“The schools are meant to improve education quality in the country and that our children should not learn under trees,” he said.

He said out of 100 percent of pupils who seat for Primary School Leaving Certificate only 36 percent are selected to secondary schools describing the scenario as an error that needs to be corrected.

He said the goal of his government was to improve education quality in the country saying that is the reason he is prioritising the construction of secondary schools and community colleges across the country.

Earlier at the ground breaking ceremony at Kawale Community Day Secondary School in Lilongwe, His Excellency the United States  Ambassador to Malawi, Robert Scott said 96 new classrooms will be constructed in 30 existing urban Secondary Schools in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu.

“We will also construct up to 200 new community Day Secondary Schools in rural areas in every district in Malawi,” he said.

” We want to increase access to secondary school nationwide by as much as 20 percent, the compelling idea is that improved access to secondary school significantly improves education and key health outcomes,” he said.

Scott said the world will be watching as the US Government works together with the Malawi Government to test the innovative approach and the transformative work of the SEED program take place in the country.-MANA