By Happy Milanzie

Lilongwe, September 13, Mana: Members of Parliament have today passed bill number 21 of 2024, National Arts and Heritage which aims at helping Malawian artists and Malawian cultural tribes opportunities to be recognized by the government.

In an interview, Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Chimwendo Banda stated that the bill will play a critical role in unearthing the hidden Malawian talent hence promoting arts in Malawi.

"Sadly, Malawian artists have long overdue been underrated and given peanuts as compared to international artists that are given huge amounts when the events have been organized," he said.

"With this bill, the international artists will be allowed to register for about sixty days before events, but Malawian artists have unlimited time," he added.

Chimwendo emphasized that the cultural tribes must register with the government to avoid such groups that pretend as they belongs to certain culture.

Chimwendo highlighted that the registration will happen at one time and not every year and the government will not regulate the tribes.

"Sadly, members of Parliament are taking this bill for politics but the bill is going to build strong relationships between tribes across the country," he shared.

Meanwhile, the representative of the United Democratic Front, Esther Jolobala said the government must concentrate on arts and not cultural tribes noting that they have potential to divide groups of people in the country.

"The bill is partially good to artists but harms and encourages segregation to the tribes as the groups of tribes will fight for superiority," she said.

However, Jolobala acknowledged that the bill will help to alleviate the challenges local artists are facing during performance in both local and international performances.