Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has assured Malawians that his administration will make every effort to demystify the presidency and open State Residences to citizens who voted them into power.

Chakwera said it was unfortunate that in the years that followed after the Kamuzu Banda presidency, State Residences became fortresses behind which the powerful would hide from the very people that trusted them to govern.

He was speaking at Chikoko Bay State Lodge in Mangochi during dinner he hosted for business captains in the Eastern Region.

For the past week, President Chakwera has been operating from Chikoko Bay State Lodge in the Lakeshore District where he is undertaking various development projects taking place in the region.

Among others the Head of State has visited and inspected markets in Zomba where he also interacted with vendors to appreciate the various challenges the business communities are facing to uplift themselves.

On Saturday, President Chakwera inspected cement companies in Mangochi after which he hosted business captains at the State Lodge.

 In his remarks, the President acknowledged the investment Kamuzu Banda made in developing these assets to ensure that the presidency is accessible to Malawians in every region of the country.

He said it is for this this reason that he resolved to  open State Residences to the people of Malawi.

“…which is why we have made every effort to make sure that we host Malawians of all walks of life here and allow the press to show the country all the different things that are happening here at their house, because as far as I am concerned, the State Residences are not for Presidents, for they are merely temporary tenants whose residency is on a fiduciary basis. As far as I am concerned, the State Residences are for the people, for they are the landlords who maintain this institution and whose interest this institution exists to advance,” said Chakwera.

He observed that income and food security are the major concerns among people in the Eastern Region; hence, his decision to engage and discuss with them how they can tackle barriers that might be there.

President Chakwera said it is his wish that the government and business leaders should collaborate in advancing the interest of Malawians to safeguard and enhance their income security and food security.

“So regardless of the table at which you have been seated, please remember that the reason you have been invited tonight is because I myself believe that each of you holds a key that Malawi needs to unlock its potential to achieve income security and food security for its citizens. That means that at around you at your table and in this room are people whom I believe Malawi needs to be part of the solution to the problems we face in our quest to achieve the Malawi 2063 Vision of inclusive wealth and self-reliance on the pillars of mechanization and industrialization of Agriculture, commercialization and institutionalization of Tourism and Mining, and the urbanization and modernization of our enabling catalysts like infrastructure, energy, digital systems, and human capital development programmes,” he said.

A representative of the business leaders thanked President Chakwera for being a caring father to all businesspeople irrespective of their regional or political affiliations.