President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says it is high time Malawians pursued social enterprises as an affront for achieving self-reliance and economic independence.
Chakwera made the remarks at the third installment of the Zikomo Presidential Awards, which took place at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Friday.
The President observed that social entrepreneurs and social enterprises are providing solutions to some of the social challenges Malawi faces.
“Social enterprises are admirable because of their pursuit of sustainable solutions that build self-reliance and reduce the culture of dependence that is often associated with other kinds of interventions,” he said.
Added Chakwera, “Fundamentally, the remarkable individuals who established and who run these social enterprises have rejected three retrogressive paths they could have easily taken in response to the social problems we all see around us, whether it is the social problem of water inaccessibility that is being addressed by awardees like BASEflow, Tengani Water Users Association, and HengaPhoka Water Users Association; or the social problem of food insecurity that is being addressed by awardees like the School of Agriculture for Family Independence, ND Madalitso Food Plant, and ACADES; or the social problem of poor access to healthcare services that is being addressed by awardees like Blessings Hospital, Partners in Hope, Uchembere Wabwino, Micromek Limited, and Wandikweza; or the social problem of youth unemployment that is being addressed by awardees like Mtalimanja Holdings and Tingathe; or the social problem of refugee living conditions and economic needs that are being addressed by Kibebe.”
The Malawi said it was sad that some prefer to create problems for others, keeping things in a broken state to earn relevance and social and political capital.
However, Chakwera said it was pleasing that social enterprises are driven by people who genuinely want Malawi’s problems to be fixed for everyone.
“And tonight we celebrate that. The second path that each of these social enterprises has rejected is the path of standing on the sidelines to point fingers at Malawi’s problem and at those they think are to blame. We all know people who have chosen that path, but these social enterprises have chosen to get into the communities where they see challenges, to roll up their sleeves and stand shoulder to shoulder with the people facing these challenges, and to work with them to create solutions, instead of standing afar and pontificating about what’s wrong with Malawi and whose fault it is. And tonight we celebrate that,” he said.
