Opinion

Build not Destroy - Henry (switzlerland)

I would like to express my views on a number of issues but all revolving around the how narrow minded us Malawians have become over the last 10 years. It is a fact that Malawians in general have changed. We have changed in our behaviour, our perceptions of the future and our attitudes.
My observation is that we have developed a culture of taking things lightly especially when matters to do with the country are concerned, we always feel it is somebody's responsibility and not ours, maybe due to the fact that we feel politics is a game played by certain people in society. This laissez-faire attitude is not only in politics but has also spread to other parts of our society. People are not responsible for their actions anymore, from the minibus drivers on our roads to most recently our elected representatives in parliament, I am even sceptic about the Malawian press at the moment. You could never imagine such a scenario we have today twenty years back. As most nations around the world e.g Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa etc are moving forward to face challenges of the 21st centuary building and developing their societies Malawians are breaking and destroying. Is shopping in "Harvey Nichols" an issue? Really? I mean people earning a minimum wage in the UK shop in "Harvey Nichols". At the end of the day it is what you want to spend your money on. Shame on the editorials publishing this nonsense, I would like it if they wrote more on issues that would help change peoples lives and things that matter not sending wrong signals to donors and potential investors they way they are doing.
When former speakers of parliament and Malawian news reporters start bad mouthing their own country, you should know you have a very big problem on your hands. A lot of people do not realise how costly such bad publicity can be for a third world country like Malawi. I think Journalists need to be responsible and cautious when selling their stories to their employers abroad because at the end of the day the people suffering are the ordinary people in the villages. All what is happening is scaring off potential investors which we really need right now to get our economy moving. So Mr Mpasu the next time you decide to go on about corruption in Malawi when in fact we are trying to rid our society of your (corrupt) kind think about all those starving malawians you could not help when you had the chance in government. Also think of the people who will be watching and building a case against you for causing all this unnecessary confusion and destruction to our country.