By Thumbiko Nyirongo
Malawi President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has called for youths and women involvement in planning for vision 2063 for the sake of development to forge ahead in the country.
President Professor Mutharika was speaking on Friday during the official launch the Consultations for the developing of the successor to Vision 2020 at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
“As we develop the new plan, I want the youths and women to be heard and their ideas included in this plan. We cannot afford to leave the youth and women behind in the process of deciding our national development for the next 40 years.
And let me ask all youths and women in Malawi to take interest in this development plan and contribute their ideas,” said Mutharika
The Malawian leader, Professor Mutharika then called upon Malawians to change mindset in order to achieve meaningful development in the country.
“But above all, this plan is not all we need. We will achieve nothing with this plan if we do not change our mindset. We need to change our mindset if we are to change our country.
In this nation, we are too often obsessed with what is not working than what we have achieved. We dwell too much on our failures than on our capacities.
We need to change our mind-set. We need to move from “sizitheka mentality to zitheka mentality”. We need to focus on our capabilities and potential. As I have said before, we need to learn to see every challenge as an opportunity,” said President Mutharika
Mutharika added: “There is no country in the world that does not have challenges. But the difference is that while our friends look at their challenges as opportunities to achieve success, we look at our challenges as reasons to find someone to blame and pull down.
In every problem, our focus must be to identify solutions instead of looking out for someone to blame. That will not take us anywhere.
This country can only be developed by our ideas and by us. We cannot wait for someone to develop this country for us.”
The launch of Consultations for the developing of the successor to Vision 2020 was held under the theme “Beyond inclusive envisioning to getting things done.”
The Malawi Vision 2020 strategy was launched in 1998 as the roadmap to Malawi’s Development from 1998 to 2020.
The launch of the Vision 2020 Successor consultations is expected to kick start national wide consultations on the successor Vision.
