By Hope Chimwala

Blantyre, November 24, Mana: Vice President, Dr. Michael Usi has encouraged the youth to indulge themselves in activities that will bring sustainable benefits to the future generation.

Speaking on Sunday at Mbayani Market, Usi emphasized on the need for the youth to be patriotic citizens who can also work hard to achieve their goals while maintaining peace and unity in the country.

"Let us do things in regard to the future generation that is coming and most of the youth here are not working, so let us do things that will benefit ourselves instead of just moving around in these streets, there is a need to work hard to be productive citizens," said Usi.

"In this country, we have life today and tomorrow we are dead, so let us do reasonable acts that will benefit us, how can someone early this morning drink alcohol?," asked Usi.

He also called on Mbayani Market Committee to elect the leadership at the market, with two women and men, respectively as chairperson and vice who are doing business at the market, to follow him to his Mudi Residence to discuss issues of NEEF loans in the quest of supporting small-scale businesses in the area. 

"Some people say, they are just lying to us, so here we are telling you, go and knock so in the process of knocking, the door will be opened for you. So I need two women and two men who will follow me to Mudi and I will notify you what to do and where to go," said Usi.

"Poverty is not something to be happy about. I know what poverty is, people are suffering, as they don't even know what to eat, they are always sleeping on an empty stomach without knowing what tomorrow will hold. I saw some woman crying that she hadn't eaten anything and when I looked at her I knew she was telling the truth," Usi added.

He, however, advised the youth who always use foul language to be conscious and desist from doing so whenever the President's convoy is passing by in the streets, as it is not within Malawian culture, fearing that such acts have the potential to fuel violence, which disrupts economic activities and property.