Joyce Banda hosts Zomba chiefs to New Year’s luncheon: ‘I know Malawians are struggling’

Former president and People’s Party (PP) leader Joyce Banda on New Year’s Day hosted  320 traditional leaders from Zomba Malosa constituency  to her residence  in Domasi to a luncheon to mark the first day of 2019.

Banda told the chiefs that she was set to contest in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections as presidential candidate on PP ticket.

The former president said she is concerned with socio-economic empowerment of the people which she claimed has not improved since she left office in 2014.

The PP leader said there was so much anger among Malawians that was manifesting itself in different ways in the just-ended year.

She observed that lack of basic needs, prolonged blackouts, poverty and lack of access to quality health services, among other things, were the ma jor causes of the anger.

“My message for 2019 is that we must desist from hurting and harming each other. I have demonstrated that we can run politics without using the podium to give hate speeches against other people. Those who do so should be named and shamed, especially those of us in politics,” she said.

Banda told chiefs she will introduce many programmes to uplift lives of all citizens.

She said: “I know people are struggling, there are not employed, they lack business capital and the taxes are too much for them. To improve their economic life, my party has set aside K10 billion for a revolving loan fund to uplift lives.”

On May 21 2019, Malawians will go to the polls to elect a president, MPs and councillors to govern the country for the next five years.