Guest of Honour at this year’s Umtheto cultural festival at Hora, in Mzimba Richard Chimwendo Banda who is Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture says fighting climate change is the most urgent task facing Malawians today as its effects are tragic to human settlements, economic growth, infrastructure development among others.
Chimwendo also disclosed that his ministry will work closely with the Mzimba Heritage Association to build a museum that will preserve Ngoni’s culture and its rich historical heritage as culture is one of the catalyst for economic growth through tourism.
He was speaking on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at this year’s Umtheto cultural festival where he represented President Chakwera who was in Zomba attending the consecration of Bishop Alfred Mateyo Chaima of Zomba Diocese of the Roman Catholic.
He also emphasized that time for “table discussions to dinner tables’ is over as climate ‘scourge’ is in the already in the room with far reaching consequences.
“Climate continues to create a big challenge for the agriculture sector which contributes significantly to the country’s socioeconomic development. The changes in cropping patterns, untimely rains and floods and crops being destroyed by cyclones and droughts is testimony that we have a new ‘pandemic’ in the room that needs collaboration among stallholders including chiefs and youths.
“The floods have shown how rapidly extreme weather events can cause massive devastation that manifests itself through the loss of life and widespread physical destruction to our society and economic architecture,” said Chimwendo Banda who is Leader of the House in Parliament.
While lauding the Ngoni culture for keeping their culture as symbol of unity, the Minister also asked the communities to stop the wanton cutting down of trees if they are to conserve the environment and mitigate climate change effects.
He later urged the people to support President Chakwera’s agenda of developing this country.
In his remarks, Inkosi Ya Makosi Mmbelwa the 5th said government must ensure that this year’s Affordable Input Program must start early to avoid challenges that rocked the exercise last year.
He also urged his people from cutting down trees carelessly as the behavior has rippled effects on the socioeconomic development of the country.
The festival was organized under the theme: ‘Integrating Culture and the Environment to Mitigate Climate Change.
Inkosi Ya Makhosi M’mbelwa the fifth, whose great grandfather, Zwangendaba, led the Ndwandwe clan of the Ngoni tribe from South Africa to Tanzania, making stop-overs in many places, including Mzimba District in Malaŵi, before settling in Tanzania.
After the death of Zwangendaba, a bigger proportion of the Ngoni people left Tanzania and returned to Mzimba, where one of his sons, Mhlahlo, became his successor as Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa 1.
Thousands of people congregated on the foot of Hora Mountain to commemorate the day which included Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara, AFORD president Enoch Chihana, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, religious groups, traditional leaders among others.
