First Lady Professor Gertrude Mutharika has called on Malawi’s youth to put education and skills first if they want to build better lives and help the country grow.
Speaking on Friday at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi during the National Youth Dialogue on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, Madame Mutharika told about 400 university students from the Eastern and Southern Regions that knowledge is the surest foundation for success.
She said young people must guard their time and avoid things that pull them away from school and personal growth.
According to her, academic excellence combined with practical skills will open doors for jobs, business, and leadership.
“Your education is your power. It is what will carry you and this nation forward. Protect it. Set aside distractions that can destroy your future,” Professor Mutharika told the students.
The First Lady also linked education to health, saying informed young people make better decisions about their bodies and their futures.
She noted that discussions on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights must go hand in hand with staying in school and completing courses that lead to employment.
Students at the dialogue engaged in discussions on career choices, mental health, entrepreneurship, and responsible living.
Organizers said the goal was to equip the youth with information that helps them stay focused while navigating challenges on campus and in communities.
Madame Mutharika urged the 400 participants to go back to their universities and become ambassadors of discipline, hard work, and healthy choices.
She added that when young people invest in learning, the benefits spread to families and to national development.
The National Youth Dialogue brought together students from public and private universities in the Eastern and Southern Regions for a day of mentorship, questions, and sharing experiences.
With unemployment and social pressures among key concerns for graduates, the First Lady’s message centered on one point: books first, distractions later.
Rt. Hon. Chimwemwe Chipungu MP, Member of Parliament for Luchenza and Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, on Friday donated essential school items to pupils from Luchenza Primary School who have been selected to join Form One in different secondary schools.
The excitement was real as each learner walked away with a brand new school bag, a blanket, exercise books and other key learning materials. For many parents, it was a timely boost ahead of the new school term.
Speaking at the event, Minister Chipungu told the young students that education is the ladder to success.
He urged them to work hard, respect teachers, maintain discipline, and grab every opportunity that comes their way.
Chipungu making a donation
“Education is the greatest investment we can make as a nation. When we support a child today, we are building the Malawi of tomorrow,” the Minister said to cheers from parents and teachers.
Community members did not hide their admiration. Many described Hon. Chipungu as a _“God-given servant”_ who has brought a new spirit of service to Luchenza.
“He is not a leader who sits in office. He comes to the ground, sits with chiefs, talks with parents, and remembers the children. That is rare leadership,” said one elder present.
Indeed, the Minister is widely praised for his open-door approach. He is known to interact well with Traditional Authorities, church leaders, youth groups, and ordinary citizens.
That accessibility, residents say, is why development projects and support programs continue to reach the grassroots in Luchenza.
Organizers said the donation was meant to motivate the new Form One students and ease the burden on families as they begin secondary school.
For the learners, the message was clear: study hard, stay disciplined, and make Luchenza proud. For the community, the gesture reinforced what many already believe — that in Hon. Chimwemwe Chipungu, Luchenza has a leader who leads with both heart and action.
The event ended with prayers and songs of appreciation from students, parents, and chiefs who thanked the Minister for his continued love for education.
President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has told the country’s top business body that Malawi’s economic future depends on putting the private sector at the center of development.
The President met a delegation from the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, MCCCI, on Friday at Palace.
The team was led by MCCCI President Mr. Ronald Ngwira.
During the meeting, discussions centered on how government and business can work closer to grow the economy and create jobs for Malawians.
Speaking after the engagement, President Mutharika said no nation has ever reached sustainable development without a strong and active private sector.
He described businesses as the true drivers of growth, innovation and employment.
“My administration is fully committed to building an environment where businesses can start, grow and thrive,” the President said.
He added, “When we empower our private sector, we are directly empowering Malawians. That is how we create opportunities, stimulate growth, and move the country forward.”
MCCCI President Mr. Ngwira welcomed the President’s assurance, saying the business community is ready to partner with government to unlock Malawi’s economic potential.
Mutharika
The meeting comes at a time when government is pushing to attract more investment, reduce the cost of doing business, and support local companies to compete regionally and globally.
President Mutharika reiterated that his government’s approach remains focused on the people.
“We are sustaining a people-centered government,” he said,adding that, “That means policies that protect businesses will ultimately protect families and communities.”
Business players have in the past months been calling for policy consistency, access to finance, and better infrastructure as key areas to help the private sector deliver.
With this renewed pledge from State House, MCCCI says it expects to see faster implementation of reforms that will make Malawi more attractive to both local and foreign investors.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) may be heading towards its first serious internal test since returning to power in October last year, following First Vice-President Jane Ansah’s public admission that she is being sidelined in the discharge of her duties.
While Ansah has maintained that her relationship with President Peter Mutharika remains cordial, her complaints raise a much bigger question,can a governing party remain united when its second-highest office bearer feels excluded from important government business?.
Ansah and Mutharika
Ansah’s concerns should not simply be dismissed as a personal disagreement within government.
The First Vice-President is a constitutionally recognised office, and the occupant is expected to assist the President in running the affairs of the country.
Therefore, when the Vice-President says she is being prevented from effectively performing her duties, Malawians have a legitimate reason to ask whether the problem is administrative, political or a combination of both.
What makes the situation particularly interesting is Ansah’s insistence that her problem is not with Mutharika himself, but with people around him.
This is an important distinction.
If the President and his Vice-President genuinely maintain a good working relationship, then the responsibility falls on the President to ensure that officials around him do not create unnecessary divisions between the two offices.
A President cannot afford an inner circle that becomes more powerful than the institutions it serves.
The controversy over Ansah’s access to Cabinet and government business also deserves serious attention.
Government has previously rejected suggestions that she is being systematically marginalised, while Ansah has now publicly presented a different picture.
When senior officials give conflicting accounts about the responsibilities and access of the Vice-President, it creates uncertainty about who is actually making decisions within the executive branch.
There is also a political lesson for the DPP in this development.
Ansah did not become Vice-President by accident.
She was selected as Mutharika’s running mate and subsequently elected alongside him in the 2025 presidential election.
That political arrangement created expectations among DPP supporters and voters that the two will work as a team.
If that partnership begins to appear dysfunctional, the damage will not be limited to government administration, it can eventually affect the party itself.
The DPP should also be careful not to underestimate the importance of history.
Malawi has already witnessed how disagreements between presidents and vice-presidents can evolve into major political disputes.
The relationship between Mutharika and his former vice-president Joyce Banda deteriorated dramatically, eventually contributing to Banda’s departure from the DPP.
Although the circumstances surrounding Ansah are different, history shows that tensions at the top of government can have consequences far beyond the individuals involved.
For Mutharika, the wisest course would be to address the matter before it becomes an open factional struggle.
If Ansah is being unfairly excluded, the President has the authority and responsibility to correct it.
If there are legitimate administrative reasons for changes to her responsibilities, those reasons should be communicated clearly.
Silence, conflicting statements and anonymous accusations are fertile ground for speculation, mistrust and factional politics.
The DPP therefore, has an opportunity to prevent a small crack from becoming a political fracture.
Ansah’s decision to speak publicly should be treated as a warning rather than merely an embarrassment.
A strong ruling party does not prove its strength by suppressing internal disagreements, it proves it by resolving them before they become destructive.
If Mutharika and Ansah can restore a clear and functional working relationship, the current controversy may eventually fade.
But if the sidelining continues, the question may no longer be whether there are cracks in the DPP, but how wide they have become.
Vice President Jane Ansah has accused some officials within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government of deliberately sidelining her from some government activities, saying she knows the people behind the move but remains unfazed.
Speaking to local media at her office on Monday, Ansah said her relationship with President Arthur Peter Mutharika remains cordial, but some individuals within the government machinery and the DPP are preventing her from fully participating in government business.
Ansah and Mutharika
Ansah said she wrote three letters to Secretary to the President and Cabinet Justin Saidi regarding some matters, but did not receive responses.
She also claimed that on some occasions she has been excluded from official programmes involving the president.
The VP cited an instance when she was told that she should not be included among dignitaries when Mutharika travelled to South Africa.
“Sometimes I can be told, ‘Don’t bother yourself, Madam.This is a private meeting or trip, so don’t bother coming,’” Ansah said.
She further complained that she has not been receiving the materials normally provided to participants ahead of Cabinet meetings.
“When you go to a Cabinet meeting, you are supposed to receive a bag containing materials for the meeting. This happens at least two days before, but even today my bag has not come,” she said.
Ansah said she has attended only three Cabinet meetings since assuming office.
“I have attended only three Cabinet meetings,” she said.
She also recalled being excluded from an occasion when Mutharika delivered his first address to Malawians after returning to the presidency.
“The day president Peter Mutharika first addressed the nation, did you see me? I was told that I was not needed there,” she said.
Asked whether she raised her concerns with Mutharika, Ansah said she has not yet.
“No, because I am not a cry baby. I deal with issues myself,” she said.
Ansah maintained that despite what she described as attempts by some officials to sideline her, her relationship with Mutharika remains good.
“I know all of you,” Ansah said, without naming the individuals she believes are behind the alleged sidelining.
The VP also dismissed speculation that she will establish her own political party, saying she does not have the financial resources to do so.
“I don’t have money,” Ansah said, adding that she is still repaying a bank loan she obtained to finance campaign meetings.
She said her financial situation is such that she cannot even afford to buy a car at the moment because she is still servicing the loan.
Ansah became VP after Mutharika chose her as his running mate ahead of the September 2025 presidential election.
The pair went on to win the election, with the Malawi Electoral Commission(MEC) declaring Mutharika president-elect and Ansah vice president-elect after the DPP secured 56.8 percent of the vote.
She was subsequently sworn in as first VP when Mutharika assumed office in October 2025.
