“…But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Joshua 22:5
On Tuesday September 16, 2025 and Saturday October 4, 2025, shall go down in Malawi history books as the moment Malawian voters elected to the country’s Presidency two lawyers, and a multitude of Malawians witnessed their inauguration! As President-elect Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and Vice President-elect Justice Dr. Jane Ansah, step up to the podium on Saturday, they will be walking into Malawi’s records as the first-time lawyer duo in the highest offices in the country. Bravo Bwana President! Bravo Madame Vice President!
According to the dictionary (on the Internet) a lawyer who can also be called attorney, counsel, or counselor, is a licensed professional who advises and represents others in legal matters. Today’s lawyers can be young or old, male or female.
Two interesting facts about lawyers are that nearly one-third of all lawyers are under thirty-five years old; secondly almost half of the law students today are women. The information states that one day women may ultimately be as numerous in the profession as men.
A lawyer has two main duties: to uphold the law while also protecting a client’s rights. To carry out these duties, a lawyer should understand the law and be an effective communicator.
Malawian voters clap hands for yourselves, you picked out people that have your welfare at heart, as enshrined in the legal profession. There shall be no more self-serving leadership with two lawyers at the driver’s seat of Malawi’s leadership.
As we all head to the 3rd Inauguration of President-elect Professor Mutharika and the first swearing in of the first judge of Vice President-elect Justice Dr. Ansah, Malawians have been pouring in various wish lists and strategies for a successful and necessary path littered with strategies. I have lined up 12top strategies the new lawyer-strong Presidency could take up to steer the country to the path of limitless development and progress.
- At the top of the list is job-creating strategies up and down all sectors; this a way to boost the failing economy. These job-creating opportunities can be achieved by massive government investing in infrastructure and supporting small and medium business ventures.
- Malawi is still predominantly an agricultural economy, thus the Mutharika/Ansah administration must invest in this sector through soft loans, re-introduction of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) where government gave Malawians coupons to buy farming inputs at a reduced (subsidized) rate. The introduction of this strategy during former President Bingu wa Mutharika led to increased food security at the household level and a boost to rural economies.
- The health sector is in great need of a serious person to ensure that public health facilities have sufficient medicines, trained healthcare professionals. A way must be made to ensure that all Malawians have access to healthcare.
- All hands are needed on deck to fight and SAY NO TO CORRUPTION. There should be no room in the country for corrupt practices. All Malawians at all levels of the society, must be called upon to resist corrupt dealings.
- The country had strategic mechanisms to shield the country from rising costs of fuel. One of them was the Petroleum Control Commission, another is the government owned National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) that is mandated to manage the country’s Strategic Fuel Reserve Facilities (SFRs).
- The new administration should seriously consider reducing taxes and tariffs. This is especially important for essential productions like food and medicines. Apart from lowering costs, the economy gets a boost as consumers buy more, and companies flourish.
- Malawi lost a Vice President in a tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of eight other people. Malawians are now resting their trust in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Government to conduct a credible investigation into the tragedy that claimed the lives of Vice President Saulos Chilma, former First Lady Shanil Muluzi and seven others on June 10, 2024. Malawians have fruitlessly called for justice and transparency and seek the DPP Government to conduct an investigation that is impartial and clear the shroud around the circumstances around the devastating tragic death of the VP and others.
- In his remarks following the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) announcement that President-elect Mutharika and Justice Ansah, is the pledge that the DPP Government will introduce free secondary school education in Malawi. This is a measure that aims to lower low literacy rates thereby assisting Malawi youth improve their abilities to secure jobs. Additionally, this will reduce the gender gap as parents will no longer be caused to choose between educating a son or a daughter.
- Malawi is ranked 174 out of 189 countries on the Human index. Over 71.3 percent of Malawians live below the poverty line, on $2.15 per day. The DPP has the big task of implementing big time social safety nets, job training programs and other initiatives that will enable youth to take part in the development of the country. Government must be intentional in engaging and enabling vulnerable Malawians to bolt out of poverty, and improve their quality of life.
- Since the dawn of multiparty democracy was introduced in Malawi, it has been a vastly divided country. The task on DPP shoulders is the need to devise strategies to unite Malawians. Among the items on this agenda will be to continue the strenuous task of removing nepotism, regionalism and encouraging instead national identity among the many different cultures in the country.
- The Mutharika Administration must also continue to come up with pro-poor strategies that are both inclusive and collaborative among groups such as women, youth, rural and traditional populations.
- Most important of all, is for the Government, the Malawi Defense Force (MDF) and Police Service, working with ordinary Malawians must work hard to re-introduce the culture of respect for our laws and collectively institute order in all that we do. On top of all this is the need to depoliticize the Police Service; as the MDF successfully depoliticized its work, so too, MUST the Police Service stop being bad-assed people. The Service must stop harassing, intimidating ordinary people. As our fellow citizens often say in the more developed countries: “Police, you work for us, the ordinary people.”
The success of the Mutharika/Ansah administration is success for all Malawians. This is what democracy looks like!
The post My Take On It: History made as two lawyers claim Malawi’s Presidency! appeared first on The Maravi Post.