By George Mponda

Karonga ,November 3,  Mana: Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga and Chitipa has said most Malawians no longer follow traditions due to misunderstanding of democracy.

Kyungu said this, Saturday, while speaking at the celebration of the second Karonga-Chitipa Cultural Festival held at Mbande Hills in Karonga under the theme 'Unity in Diversity, Respect and Justice for All'.

"Ever since we attained democracy, most Malawians fail to understand the system and end up abusing it. We have witnessed a high number of suicide cases, youths vandalising development equipment all this happening because of failure to understand what democracy is all about."Kyungu said.

“We need to retrace our steps and start using our lost values and showing respect especially to the elderly people and if we do this, then the country’s development will be on the right track,” he added.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Catherine Gotani Hara, who was representing President Lazarus Chakwera at the festival, commended people of Karonga and Chitipa for their efforts in promoting culture.

Said Hara: "Culture is considered as being primitive by the current generation. Most people living in urban areas dont even know their vernacular languages like Tumbuka, Nkhonde and Lambya which is very bad."

“We have forgotten where we come from, in the past you wouldn't even know that there are orphans because people adopted them into their homes with love unlike the situatuon now where everyone only looks out for their immediate family members which is a serious sign of moral decay," she added.

Chairperson for Karonga Chitipa Heritage Malumbo Mwasinga, asked government to offer support for cultural festivals, emphasizing their role in fostering national unity.

This was the second joint cultural festival held by the people of Chitipa and Karonga, following the inaugural edition in 2022 at the same site.