Mutharika says aid has destroyed Africa: ‘I have 5 ways of rescuing Malawi’
President Professor Peter Mutharika has described colonialism and aid to Africa as organized systems meant to cripple Africans.
The Malawi leader said he has since found five ways of rescuing Malawians from such system.
Mutharika was speaking Sunday at Washington University in St. Louis, United States of America, where he was conferred upon the Doctor of Humane Letters. He taught at the University for 40 years.
He said as he reflected on leading Malawi while at the University, he realized that African states were in poverty because they lacked capacity to act independently and determine their economic autonomy.
“I saw my country in the same situation. I thought this incapability was conditioned by two major factors. First was colonialism, which used education to destroy Africans’ belief in themselves. It created a collective inferiority complex, a negative self-concept by making Africans to believe that there was nothing good about them,” said Mutharika.
“As I speak, the biggest challenge in my country is the problem of mindset. We think too negatively,” he added.
Condemning aid to Africa, Mutharika said: “The second problem is that we have been caught up in a global economic system that is tilted against our favour. The system is organized to marginalize Africa from the global decision-making processes.
“The decision to pump aid into Africa as opposed to bringing investments and industries has never been in favour of Africa. In fact, it has only destroyed Africa.”
He said Malawi needs five things to move from the poverty bondage created by colonizers, thus moving from aid to trade by producing goods to bring industries.
He also said Malawi needs foreign direct investors who must inject in capital, create industries and jobs and not leaving out democratic atmosphere to create an environment for foreign direct investment.
“We need to create a skilled labour society in order to empower the youth to be productive agents of the industrialization process.
“We need infrastructure such as roads and energy to support the investment and industrialization process,” said Mutharika.
He said since assuming power in 2014, Malawi is moving from aid to trade using direct investment and that it is rising on the Global Index of Doing Business.
Mutharika said his administration is also focusing on ensuring that the foreign investors together with rural communities begin serious industrialization. He said his government is also establishing community technical colleges to empower the youth.
“I have seen community technical colleges support economic growth, including here in the US. In fact, here in the US, it is community colleges that have moved minority communities upwards,” said Mutharika adding that his government has also focused on building new infrastructure and taking electricity to rural communities and investing in power generation.
He thanked Washington University for conferring on him the Professorship saying: “Washington University and the community of St. Louis have inspired the passion that drives me to lead my country today.”
Mutharika also received the same degree from Addis Ababa University 10 years ago. He also received the Charles Nagel Professorship. A few weeks ago, he received another Professorship from the University of International Business and Economics in China.
Mutharika arrived in the US on September 22 to attend the 73rd United Nations General Assembly.
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For 54 years Malawi has failed to rescue itself despite piles of aid funds and multilateral loans. The problem isn’t lack of natural resources but failure of imagination from our leaders. They’re greedy and deeply corrupt. If Mutharika was able to implement just half of what he puts on paper (theories), Malawi will be in a much better place……much better socio-economic position.
Cheo Muyata, I agree with you. The man, APM, is ready to take off into more and more action. Cheo, would you tell Chakwera and Chilima ( the two evil C’s) to stop obstructing APM from springing into more and more action.
APM, you are a darling. You have my vote in May 2019 and also the votes of all able minded Malawians.
The speech is great. We now need action on the ground.
We need to re work the curricula of several programs in our Universities and colleges. We need to change our thinking pattern e.g. going to school so that you get employed instead of developing a skill for self employment.
We should be critically looking at what is really wrong with us (we don’t even have large farms like Illovo yet we have an Agriculture institution, no companies that can be building roads yet we have the polytechnic producing civil engineers, etc).
APM is truly a man of the people. He has delivered a powerful message.
A president who cares about his people has spoken. Bravo APM! Malawians love you. You have our support and vote.
I appeal to residents of St. Louis, Missouri, USA to demand return of the Doctor Humane Letters conferred to this thief of a president.
Degree ya sole signatory……..contrary to corporate governance…….yobera k145,000,000.00
Kholowa he is right kudabwera ma tractor as donation kwa alimi mudagawana… and peter ndiwa bodza hes talking things of which he can’t walk in it… ngati adalephera kumanga chaponda even investigating issue ya MSB yomwe idagulidwa mwa chinyengo komaso ndalama kutengedwa ndi anthu ngati MULI . Nde akakambe izi …
choyamba kubweza k145,000,000.00 ku boma osati kwa mmwenye uja kenaka…….
Cheap talk from nothing but a common thief!!! Ukagwere uko … mmxxiii!!
The use of aid is to uplift you, keep you alive, now when you are alive then you can stand up and develope. What happens is that you presidents you choke every aid so can you expect developement there? Tima tractor tinachoka ku india tija tili kuti? Ma water pump aja ali kuti? Iwe peter muthalika you have no shame, you recently return that 145 million sikuba kumenekuja, nde kumeneko uzioneka ngati dolo pamene dziko ili likukukanika kuyendetsa. Achina chaponda kuba mpaka kuotcha offesi osamangidwa nde ukuti chani? Iweyo ndikugwilizana nawe pamodzi pa mind set yes you are right. But also you cannot inluence mind set change on others when a leader is seen like a dead piece of wood as you are. Only strong minds can do that. Shame on our malawi president professor peter muthalika as you want to portray yourself as a saint when you are a thief and a dumb leader who is eve failing to run world poorest country in tge world.
Successful African leaders who are doing good jobs of developing their countries typical example is Rwandas Kagame. He is just a good leader who is strong and doesn’t tolerate corruption in his government. He is not a professor or doctor or Ngwazi. He does not have any honorary degree whatever so ever. Malawian politician are busy getting honorary degree so they called doctors but they don’t know how to run successful nations.
Mutharika is busy getting more honorary degrees while his country has no medicines in hospitals students at many schools are learning under trees teachers have not been paid their salaries. Towns and cities have no electricity and running on dry taps. Roads in the towns and cities are not paved but he prides himself with plenty degrees for what?
You have failed the people of Malawi and you should go and retire next year. Do you want die in office like your brother Bingu?
In Rwanda you cannot write shit like what you have written. You would immediately be meat for crocodiles. Be grateful that you have a democrat as your president.
Maybe. Koma chilungamo chadutsa ngati madzi apa, whether you like to admin or not Patrick Phiri
In Rwanda the constitution allows the President to rule. Here we have diluted Presidential powers because we think it is dictatorship. In Rwanda the system does not provide room for people who are bent on deliberately frustrating good projects just because of politics. Amanjata ndithu.
The President says that colonialism ‘used education to destroy Africans’ belief in themselves. It created a collective inferiority complex, a negative self-concept, by making Africans believe that there was nothing good about them.’
This, surely, is one of the strongest arguments in favour of electing younger leaders, born after 1964, who were not conditioned by colonialism to feel inferior, unworthy, inadequate, and incapable. Elderly people who spent their formative years adapting and adjusting to the humiliating demands of the colonial yoke are clearly not the ideal leaders of a free Malawi.
I think that you are referring to what some scholars call the ‘machila-mentality’. The ambition of some of the people who grew up in colonial times was to replace the white man on the machila with a black man, rather than to throw the whole damned machila and its burden into the nearest river. I suppose that nowadays we could refer to it as the ‘motorcade-mentality’.
If he has failed, you wouldn’t demonize him the way you have been without getting arrested. You wouldn’t be allowed to do demos the way you have been or you you be arrested. No platforms like these would be there that allow to say whatever you say. In China, they block outlets like these. Some progress isn’t that obvious especially to individuals like you who have eyes but can’t see because your judgement is not in the right place. Yes corruption is there but facets of it should not crowd your judgement that there is no accountability or improvements in other areas. Look for such information where things have improved you find plenty and then make the noise. You have all these freedoms other countries don’t have. I admire Kagame myself but we are a different country and our countries have faced different experiences in the past therefore the mindsets of our people are as a result of those different experiences. Its easier to pass some laws, impliment some things in Rwanda than Malawi. You have many opportunities in Malawi that an individual person can pursue today but ofcourse you can’t see because you have eyes but you don’t see. That’s why a Chinese person comes in, they seize that opportunity you never saw and you castigate them. Many young people are changing their lives by doing things for themselves in Malawi. Some of you are failing and you blame govt. Yes challenges are there. Corruption is there and will always be there. There is no country without it. But at the same time that should not be your excuse as an individual. If you can write and comment on platforms such as this then you are skilled, educated and know world affairs. Therefore you can find something to do for yourself and stop waiting for govt or blaming govt. I’m sorry, but I think he has done well. Some of you are just used to spending than you save. Anything that comes up you want to buy it without judging whether you really need it or just want it. You spend your money on it, you blame others that you have money. It’s the same thinking you have around govt and politicians. You think one will come that will just be perfect with a perfect team. Wel l good luck and keep waiting… The smart ones are taking themselves out of poverty. The nagging ones will keep nagging and blame corruption and others.
Yes we need to change our mindset period. The president has heard this message elsewhere and wants to high jack the massage with this ambiguous lecture. In the first place Malawi far better in the 60’s than some of the Asian countries in the Far East and that progress was from colonial rule. Misrule is our problem. Rwanda is up and running and you cannot rule out aid playing a part. Tisiye izi zomangoti tikuchit abwino ma useless statistics phwiiii GDP, INFLATION and really work. Remember ‘MALAWI IS A STARPERFORMER’ and yet…….
James, you mean to tell me that Ben Phiri has become a billionaire through hard work and saving?
This clueless man has his time cut out. He has no plan and real solutions to fix social problems in Malawi. Chilima and youthful and clever team from UTM have ready answers to sort out Malawi. From next year Malawi will be a very different country.
How do u know?
Kuba basi ukunama iwe
Zamaliseche zeni zeni
Mr. President u can talk what you know. But white people are greedy. N black government always wick. Mukuononga Ndalama Zambia kugula fertilizers kupatsa anthu prima Ndi khasu,mkuumadikila mvula.
If aid not good how do you manage to leave Thyolo and get education in U.S.
For anyone to be colonised, one has to to allow own mind to be colonised. The oppressor will only win if given permission to oppress. Colonialism and aid aren’t to blame for the demise of Africa but rather those (political) leaders who allow to be taken advantage of. The decions that our leaders are taking today reflect the oppressed and colonised mind. Our leaders have poverty of imagination…..they can’t think beyond themselves. They campaign for public office to steal and loot.
Six months remaining Gogo Exit Door opened.Atleast prepare your hangovers man.No turning back to Apm.Free at last free at last..Thank God we are free at last!!!!
These FDI should team up with Malawians
Mapulani 5 ali ndi bwana APM watu ndi awa 1, K145million 2, Tiziba dizilo ku Escom 3, Nandolo azigulitsa kwa adimaki china Mulli ndi ena 4, ma Contract a m’boma azipelekedwa kwa Amwenye Okha uku akutigawila ma kick backs 5Ntchito zamipando yonona tizilembana Alomwe okhaokhap
I would agree because the excess cash given by donors makes it possible for politicians to steal from local resources hence we have cash gate.
Five yrs zatha not a single factory koma kusesa ndalama m’boma ndiye nkhani ya tsiku ndi tsiku & nobody has been convicted during APM’s reign. Pakamwa podya zamchere.
Muntarika is wicked. You leave millions of Malawians languishing in poverty to tell lies to Americans. We are waiting for you here. Your days are numbered you will join your brothers there.
The audience was too receptive to question his nonexistent solutions think of the 145 billion kwacha into his personal purse that requires a development mindset coupled with total commitment to self aggrandisement. People here in Malawi are grinding in abject poverty this nation has borne the brunt of shameless thieving started his brother Bingu to a point of constructing Ndata palace let him get his personal degree it won’t unravel financial chicanery the DPP cohorts have been unleashing on our poor. Construction of community colleges has served his gangter contractors which will assist DPP entrenched in power Malawi is an orphan
10 POINT PLAN
5 POINT PLAN
DON’T CORRESPOND /MATCH WITH 54TH YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE !! WE ARE VERY VERY POORLY GOVERNED !! (CORRUPTION )! WE NEED PEOPLE WHO ARE EXTRA CAREFUL ON THE DRIVING SEATS –WHERE IS BAKER TILLY FORENSIC AUDIT REPORT ? ? WHERE ARE OUR TRACTORS BOUGHT FROM INDIA USING TAX PAYERS MONEY ???
Thieving leaders are responsible for Africa’s problems not aid!
The problem with Africa is not because of aid, but because of the lack of proper leadership. African leaders since colonialism have been greedy, selfish and only out for what they can get. They have misused and wasted the natural resources of their countries for their own selfish ends. In many African countries rebel factions have sprung up and sought through bloody conflict to take over their country’s riches so that they can enjoy them. African leaders have stifled democracy so that they can continue to enjoy their country’s natural resources for themselves. Even the aid that has been pumped into Africa in the billions of dollars has been misappropriated and gone into the pockets of the ruling elite. At the time of independence, most African people did not understand the concept of democracy and allowed their new native leaders to do as they wished without holding them to account. The perfect example of all this is Malawi itself and the manner in which Kamuzu Banda ran the country for thirty years. Since multi-party democracy over twenty years ago, his successors have attempted to imitate him. Over the past 50+ years of independence there has not been a corresponding degree of development. Fortunately Malawians are finally coming to realise that their leaders must be held to account and that it is within their power to determine their own future development.
Says a man who is so colonized that he himself uses colonial brutality to preside over a destitute people. Fcuk off.
The problem my President is not azungu its ife eni ake. We have failed to fully define, analyse and solve our problems. To make matters worse we have worsened our problems…..
Inu maliseche a wanthu a ku. Mmwera you are a joke, you have failed to implement the whatever you call it in the last 4 years, and you expect us to believe you?
I beg to differ Mr president, corruption is what is killing our Africa,some countries in the west and Asians countries were colonized and aid depend but now aren’t the same they picked up,unless our leaders change their mind, people wont.lets be there to serve not to rule and steal
Excuse me was this whole speech written by Saulosi Chilima or I’m just naive? Awawa ikanakhala mbeu tikanangozula nkutaya. What was he doing the last 4 yrs?
Don’t blame the West, Africa is his on problem. Tell me what is it that Chinese, Europeans have that we do not have? Africa is one of the richest continent in terms of natural resources in the world, yet it is also the poorest. The problem is its own people, especially its leaders who are happy to receive recognition abroad when they have nothing to show for at home. How many professors have been presidents in USA , UK , Germany, Japan China? In Malawi since independence we have had people who call themselves Doctors: both real and “imaginary” ones. Stop blaming others and solve your problems at home.
FYI Chilima 12 points to rescue Malawi, the first points is mindset change.
I rest my case.
This guy is really stupid and pathetic. Asian countries were once colonised, where are they now? We are not fools Mr President.
Abwana Peter you are awesome and blessed with a lot of intelligence and wisdom. I have followed your leadership and words of wisdom from the word go. You needed a country big as Africa to rule not only Malawi. People will hate you but this should not discourage you because many of us see how important you are. May the good Lord continue blessing you and your understanding wife Getrude!
Awa ndi a Maliseche eni eni
That’s Greek to this adopted Colouerd from Chigumula. He cant understand this. ZAMABIGIE IZI!!!
Thats my APM.
Mbuzi ya munthu. Anayamba wakhala ndi plan litinso ameneyi ndiye bolanso Joyce Banda
Mind you there were few countries which were not colonised including Ethiopia and Iraq, but the rest were colonised including US, Britain Britanicca, Germany Germania,. So colonialism is not a factor for under development. Aid helped the rest of Europe to pick up. Whilst in Africa we have had thieves disguised as leaders, who are ruining AFRICA
APM is a professor of lies. The problem is not aid. The problem is how the aid is used. How would you expect to develop using aid when you use it to line your pockets you thieves. Who doesn’t know that African politicians are pests that destroy foreign aid? There are countries that have developed ndi aid yomweyo, yet you are saying aid has not been helpful. Liar. Corruption is your problem. Zimenezo muzinenera konko.
The stupidest think I have read on years… What a fool. Read a real history book. Africans were not seen as human beings. Where have you been.
Mukazazindikila muzasiya kuganize mosakwanila chonchi
well said!
Very true, you take all the money and invest in Europe where you open foreign accounts you thief ,now you say aid is bad,
True. One example is the Marshall Plan after a world war to revive Europe. We’ve never been at war but see where we are. STOP GREED, NEPOTISM, TRIBALISM THINKING YOU ARE INDISPENSIBLE Malawi will move forward.
Mkango, you’re true. A lot of money and resources have been plundered by the same ruthless and headless thieves while in leadership. At what global index level was Malawi in 1994? Why have we dropped. It is the tendency of leading Malawi ngati ganyu which has propelled Malawi into dire poverty not aid. Kuba kotumana nkumatetezana is a point. Kumangokamba ndale osati zofuna kutukula dziko ndizomwe zakula mmalawi. Wina uyu akut adzakongoza anthu 200,000 aliyese k200,000.00 translating into k40bn Spread it along the society Muona kuti ndalama imeneyo idzapatsidwa ku mamembala a UTM okhaokha from constituency level not ordinary Malawians to develop. Zautsiru zenizeni. Too rhetoric. Yemweyo akuti adzapanga ntchito 1 millio pomweso adzakweza retirement age to 65. Where is the practical truth? Kungolankhula zomwe athu afuna kumva pomwe cholinga nkudzaba ndalama. Adali mmodzi mwa obera mavoti since 2008 landslide victory akazilemekeza bwanji ndalama. Mbava pa mapepala a vote zingasiye ndalama? Zamkutu