By Vida Msiyo

Blantyre, October 25, Mana: The Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture through the Department of Peace and National Unity, on Thursday met officials from the Blantyre District to discuss the need for the criminalization of discrimination in Malawi, with focus on racism, regionalism and tribalism.

Lwitiko Rodney Munkhondia, an Economist in the ministry, said it was important to hold such a meeting to find possible solutions to the widespread discrimination in the country.

“We want to ensure that we develop an inclusive legal instrument that will eliminate discrimination and ensure no one is left behind,” he said.

Among the participants was Apostle Lindiwe Matanya, a member of Women for Fair Development (WOFAD), who noted that discrimination has become too common in Malawi.

“We discriminate against each other based on language; just hearing someone speak, we already judge them and this makes us reluctant to offer any assistance,” she said.

Apostle Matanya further observed that political and religious leaders are often responsible for promoting divisions, giving an example of leaders appointing individuals into positions based on cultural ties rather than merit.

“If we continue like this, our children will struggle to get jobs and there will be no development in the country. Development will remain concentrated within one tribe and when people are employed based on connections, the quality of work suffers. This will hinder the realization of Vision 2063,” she said.

Council Chairperson for Blantyre, Elsen Dumuka said discrimination in Malawi is not a new issue having been present since the 1980s.

“I encourage everyone to participate in ending this practice and I urge the Ministry to take this issue seriously because capable and experienced individuals are being denied opportunities due to racism, tribalism and regionalism,” said Dumuka.

The meeting which brought together stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders highlighted the need for urgent action to address discrimination in order to promote fairness and development across all sectors in Malawi.