Minister salutes cultural organisations
Cultural organisations in Malawi are key and need to be supported because they not only promote diversity and tourism but also foster national unity and development.
Labour and Manpower Development Minister Henry Mussa said this at Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe on Friday as a guest of honour at a fundraising dinner and dance for the Mzimba Heritage Association’s four-day Umthetho event to take place at Hora in Mzimba and whose climax will be on August 8.
Umthetho is an annual gathering of the Ngonis of Mzimba and of Dowa, in the area of Senior Chief Msakambewa, to celebrate their cultural roots, which connect them to South Africa’s legendary warrior-hero Chaka Zulu.
During the Umthetho gathering, Mzimba’s Ngoni King, Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa 5, also invites fellow traditional leaders and groups, including fellow Ngonis of Ntcheu and Mchinji, to celebrate with him at the historic Ngoni site at the foot of Hora Mountain.
“Cultural organisations like Mzimba Heritage Association should be vehicles that bring about positive change for the advancement of our communities, specifically, and also in our country at large. …They are one of the ways of fostering unity at local and national levels,” Mussa pointed out.
He stressed: “By expressing ourselves through the festival, we also provide a forum for people of other cultures to understand us, so that we can harmoniously work together as Malawians. This is why we all need to support these festivals.”
Mussa said that such cultural organisations also need to pursue broader national goals like fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic, environmental conservation, gender mainstreaming and consolidating democracy, evident through free speech and association and the rule of law.
At the event, Mussa presented a K500,000 donation from President Peter Mutharika and First Lady Gertrude Mutharika to the dinner and dance organisers.
Mussa and Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe initially donated K100,000 and K300,000 but they and many guests lit up the night with a joyous competitive spirit by making other hefty cash offers, including during a raffle draw and a protracted auction for two sets of senior chiefs’ leopard skin regalia.
Speaking earlier, fundraising committee chair Barnett Phiri thanked all guests and organisers for working hard to make the event a success. He singled out Nation Publications Limited for compliments for helping to publicise the function through special advertising support.
He invited people to attend the forthcoming Umthetho, saying the event is important because it gives the Ngonis the opportunity to promote, showcase, rekindle and preserve their cultural identity.
Added Phiri: “It (the event) is important because it allows us all to enter the pages of history once again and reflect on who we are, our cultures, where we came from and what we stand for and where we are going. This is important because the first sign that someone is lost is when he or she cannot remember where the person came from.”
