Malawi Congress Party Convention—1967. Opening Addresss by President of Malawi Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda

26 Pages·1967·2.865 MB·English

by  H. Kamuzu Banda

GPD
DT
3236
.B36
A5
1967
]
GOVT PUBLS DEPT.
MAY 91973
LIBRARY
Malawi Congress Party
Convention—1967
3d.
.
DT
3236
,634
A5
1967
Opening Address
by
President of Malawi
Ngwazi
KWACHA ! Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda
A
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FETH
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А 2
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3
President's Opening Address
To The MCP Convention
.
ONCE AGAIN, I am !
very NEGLECTED ?
happy to open this morn
ing, here in Mzuzu, the As I have stated, again
third Annual Convention of many, many times, our coun.
the Malawi Congress Party try is said to be poor. This 1
since our independence. As not because nature has denied
everyone of us in this hall it everything that makes a
knows, the infirLstilcoonnvgewnetioinn country rich, but because it
was held has been neglected. While it
1965 and the second one IS true that so far, no dia
in Blantyre in 1966. The mond, gold, copper and other
main topics for discussion at commercial minerals have
the session of the Convention been found in any commer 1
that was held in Lilongwe cial quantities, it is equally 1
were the Draft Constitution true that agriculturally, Ma n
for the proposed and expected lawi is one of the richest
Republic of Malawi and Nomi countries in Africa. The soil is
nation of the Malawi Congress good, practically all over the
Party candidate for the Pres country, and the rain fall is
idency. At the Convention good, for agricultural pur
which was held last year 1966, poses all over the country.
in Blantyre, the main topic Therefore, if our country is
before the Convention and for poor or is said to be poor, it
discussion by the Convention is poor or it is said to be poor
was Building the Nation. simply because it was negl-
This year, at this session of ected or it has been neglected
the Convention, it has been by those in power in the
rightly and wisely decided days gone by. Now, that we
that Building the Nation, be, the Africans ourselves are in
again, the main topic of and power, it is our spiritual and
for discussion by the Con moral duty, spiritual and
vention. This does not mean moral responsibility to dev
that no other topics will be elop it.
discussed. Not at all. Other
topics may and will be dis MORE FOOD
cussed. What it does mean is
that while other topics may Since no diamond, gold,
and will be discussed, the copper or other minerals of
main topic of discussion or the commerce and industry have
centre of discussion will be, been discovered anywhere in
Building the Nation. the country, developing this
country means and must mean
As I have said SO many for a long time to come, de
times before, independence veloping agriculture in every
does not mean loafing, does sense of the word to the high
not mean that money or est possible degree. It means
wealth will fall on our heads hard work with the axe and
and shoulders like manna hoe in the field. Not only that,
from Heaven, or like storm it meansimproved methods
waters from the clouds. It of using the hoe and axe in
means hard work. It means the field. It means adopting
hard work in the fields, by new ideas of farming or im
everyone of us. proved methods of farming,
Because, as I said last year, HUMILIATING
our population is growing but
I have no doubt at all that
our total land area is station
if all of us work hard in the
ary. One might say in fact,
field and develop our country
that our total land area is asit should be developed,with
sghrroiwntkhinogf, pobpeuclaautsieon.ofThetrhee agriculture as a basis of
our development, before very
fore, we have to adopt new long, we will be able to free
methods of farming, improv ourselves from this humiliat
ed methods of farming. So ing dependence on friends for
that, from a small piece of financial aid. I have always
land, we can grow more food
strongly believed this, namely,
than we used to grow before
that if all of us work hard
or we are growing now.
in the field and develop our
country as it should be de
CHANGE veloped, we will be able to
Again, as I said last year, free ourselves from this de
side by side with improved pendence on friends. Now, I
methods of farming, our am convinced more than ever
system of land tenure or our before, that in this, I was
methods of land holding, right or have been right all
must change. We must stop along.
the practice or the custom of
shifting our gardens from one
TAIWAN
place to another, every SO
often. We must stop making As delegates know, I went
gardens in this place this year, to Taiwan last month. What I
in that place two or three saw in Taiwan convinced me,
years after that, in the third beyond any doubt at all what
place three or four years after soever, that when I thought
that, again. Instead, we must that if all of us worked hard
remain on one piece of land, in the field and developed our
farm that land by improved country as it should be de
methods of farming, in that veloped agriculturally, we
way, look after the land so would be able to free our
that it, the land, can look selves from dependence on
after us for years and years our friends for financial or
and years. budgetary aid, I was right.
My visit to Taiwan has con
FREE OURSELVES vinced me beyond any doubt
at all, that all along, I was
Last year, at the Convention right in what I was saying.
in Blantyre, I told the dele
gates that at present as
country, we depend for botha I will not bore you, Mr.
our recurrent and develop gCahtaeisr,mbayn,givMiinngistyeorus,alldetlhee
ment budget, on financial aid
details of what I and those
from friends overseas and
that without this aid from who went with me saw in
farnidentdhsa,twtehecroeuflodren,otwemahnaadgeto, fToariwmaen.giIvtingisyonoutthneecdeestsaialrsy, .
work hard and develop our telling you every little thing
country so that we could free we saw there. I will leave
ourselves from this depend that to the Minister of De
ence on friends. I would like velopment and Planning, who
was with me, to tell you the
to repeat that now. We must
details in the course of your
work hard and develop our discussions. What is necessary
country, and in that way, free for me to do is to give you
ourselves from dependence for bare facts, in brief. what we
financial aid on friends. saw and heard in Taiwan.
2
Briefly, Taiwan is a country themselves from any depend
less than one third of Malawi ence on friends or well-wish
in area. Malawi is 47,000 squ ers for financial or budgetary
are miles and has a popula aid or assistance. If the people
tion of four million people. of Taiwan can do this, if the
Taiwan is 13,000 square miles people of Taiwan can free
and has a population of thir themselves from dependence
teen million people. on financial aid from anyone
else, on crops grown on 4.000
FOOD FOR EXPORT square miles, if the people of
Of the 13,000 square miles Taiwan can free themselves
that Taiwan has, two thirds from dependence on anyone
or 8,000 odd square miles is else for aid, on secondary in
dustries based on agriculture,
taken up by mountains and
which is built on only 4,000
water, leaving only one third
or 4.000 odd square miles or square miles, is there any rea
roughly speaking, for agricul son why we in this country,
ture or farming. Yet, from cannot do the same? None at
all. No reason at all.
this one third or 4,000 odd
square miles roughly,the peo
ple of Taiwan produce not MALAWI
only enough food to feed
themselves,but also more for I have said that Malawi is
export to other countries out a country of 47,000 square
side Taiwan itself. In this and miles and has a population of
from this 4,000 odd square four million people and that
miles they grow and export Taiwan is a country of 13,000
banana, sugar, rice, pineap square miles with a popula
ple, mushroom , asparagus and tion of 13 million people. Even
other crops, to other coun if for the sake of argument
tries. two thirds or the greatest
portion of our land is moun
SELF-SUPPORTING tains and water, which, in
From these crops: banana, fact, is not the case, we have
sugar, rice, pineapple, mush at least 15,000 square miles of
room, asparagus and others, cgoouondtraygr.icWuhltyu,ratlhelnan,dcainn this
ltihoenspeaonpdlemiolfliToaniswpaonungdest.mFiolr not do what the people woef
Taiwan have done, free our
example, from banana alone.
they get about £23 million a selves from dependence on
year and from sugar £20mil friends for financial or bud
lion. And from mushroom and getary aid every year? I ask,
asparagus, they get about £6 is there any reason why we
to £10,000,000 a year. should not do the same? No
Nor is this all. With agri reason at all.
culture as a basis of their
economy, the people of Tai A GOOD RECORD
wan havebuilt secondary in
dustries. For example, they There is no reason at all,
have built a textile industry, whatsoever, why we should
a plywood industry amo not or cannot. In this respect,
others. all evidence points to the fact
that we, in fact, can free our
From all this, from crops selves from dependence on
such as those of banana, others. The record of the past
sugar, rice, pineapple, mush five years since we the Afri
room and asparagus, from cans entered the Government,
secondary industries such as point to the fact that wecan,
textileindustry,plywood, tan in fact, free ourselves from
ningand other industries, the dependence on others, finan
people of Taiwan have freed cially. As I stated last year,
3
t
there has been a steady im three areas, where people
provement in our agricultural were not working hard, Nkha
production since 1962. Cotton, ta Bay, Nkhotakota, Lower
groundnuts and tobacco pro Shire or Chikwawa and Nsa
duction has improved greatly. nje. While I have received re
This year, though the rains ports of great improvement in
came late and were caprici Nkhata Bay and Nkhotakota,
ous, there have been almost I have not received any re
bumper crops in maize, gro port of improvenient from
undnuts and tobacco. There Chikwawa and Nsanje. The
has been more tobacco this reports I receive from Chi
year than in any other year kwawa and Nsanje, or on
before. Both in maize and to Chikwawa and Nsanje are
bacco there has been more of that verylittle improvement,
each of these crops produced, if any, has taken place in
than we are able or will be this respect. Our people in
able to sell on the worldmar Chikwawa and Nsanje, are
ket. not yet working hard and
theyshould be working. They
THANKS are still spending far too
much time, according to my
For all this, I would like to
reports, on drinking Kachasu.
thank my people all over the
country. The fact that there CAMPAIGN
has been more maize produc
Therefore, I would like
ed, more groundnuts, moreto
Party leaders in Chikwawa
bacco this year, means and
and Nsanje to mount a cam.
proves a number of things. It
means that the people are paign of educating our people
listening to my appeal for there, in the importance of
hard work and that they are hard work. I would like Party
working hard. It means that leaders in Chikwawa and
the people are listening to the Nsanje, to embark upon a
campaign of educating
advice of agricultural instruc OUI
tors and are learning new me people there against the evils
thods. It means that the peo of drinking too much Kachasu
ple now understand the im or Mowa, Whisky or Gin. I
portance and benefit of fer would like the women in the
tilizers and are buying more Women's League in Chikwa
fertilizers. It means that the wa and Nsanje, to take it
people are adopting new me upon themselves to per
thods of farming. suade their husbands to work
hard and drink less.
All this, makes me very
happy. And it is for this rea BEST LAND
son that I want to thank you The Lower Shire, Chikw +
tmryy, pferoopmletahlel ovNeorrtthhetocotuhen wa and Nsanje, form part of
the best of our agriculturai
South and from the East to land in the country. On the
the West.
banks of the river, both in
Chikwawa and Nsanje, par
MORE WORK
ticularly in Chikwawa and
But while I am happy be. northern and eastern parts of
cause the majority of our peo Nsanje,there is an abundance
ple listen to me, when I ap of good alluvial agricultural
peal to them for hard work, soil, good for cotton, rice,
and are working very hard, maize and other crops. If our
I am not happy because there people in Nsanje wosked hard
are still a number of our peo enough, from the good alluvial
ple that are not working hard soil that is available there
by name three districts or alone, we could get enough
enough. Last year, I named money to balance our budget
4
1
without asking anyone outside of our people who grow rice
to help us. Every year, we in Karonga, Nkholakot?, Bá
get requests for ution ano supe and other places do not
more of it, from buyers over produce enough to meet the
seas. But we are nos able to demands, the Government
meet the requirements of the has decided to put Young
buyers overseas. Why? Be Pioneers in those areas where
cause our people in the Low rice is grown, to grow it.
er Shire, Chikwawa and Nsa
EXPANSION
nje, are not working hard
enough to produce the requir
We must expand the pro
ed amount of cotton. duction of cotton and rice in
RESETTLEMENT this country. It would be fool
ish of us not to do so, when
For this reason, for the rea our cotton and rice are in
son that our people in Chi great demand on the world
kwawa and Nsanle are not market. Until our people in
working hard enough to pro Chikwawa and Nsanje,learn
duce enough cotton to meet to work hard and drink less,
the demands of our buyers until our people in Karonga,
overseas, the Government has Nkhotakota, Kasupe learn to [
decided to put some of the work hard, the Government
Young Pioneers on land in must use trained and discip
Lower Shire, Salima and later lined Young Pioneers in its
on. Karonga, to grow cotton campaign to increase produc
Cotton is a very important tion of cotton, rice and other
crop. The Sudan and Egypt, crops in this country. There
depend largely on cotton for fore, our people in Chikwawa
their economic life. And our and Nsanje, Karonga, Nkhota
cotton is very near to that kota and Kasupe must not
produced in the Sudan and complain when they see the
Egypt in quality. For this re Government giving land to
ason, it is in great demand. the Young Pioneers. Above
all, they must not be jealous
RICE of the Young Pioneers when
they see the Government giv
What is true of cotton is ing them land and even fin
also true of rice. Every year, ancial assistance.
we get more requests for rice
from this country from buy. NO WASTE
ers in other countries than we I have stated that our peo
produce. Rice is another very
icomupnotrrtyantcocurlodp pwrhoidcuhce thiins opflefamrumsitnga,dnoepwt wnaeyws mofetfhaordms
abundance for sale in other ainngd, iinnoorrddeerrnotot tioncwraesatsee lparnod
countries. May I tell you that 1
duction. The increase of pro
in Asia there are countries
duction whether of maize,
ltyhatonderpiecnedfoerntitrheeliyr orecgorneoamt groundnuts, rice, cotton or !
ies? For example, Thailand tobacco, in itself is of no use
and Taiwan, particularly to our people and to this coun
try. The increase in produc
Thailand, depend entirely or tion whether of maize, gro
very greatly on rice for their
economic life. And our kind undnuts, rice, cotton or to
bacco, if it is to be of any use
of rice here is very much as
at all to our people, if it is
that ofThailand, if not better
in quality. If we produce er: to be of any good at all to
this country, must go hand in
ough of it, we will get enough
hand or side by side with the
money from it, running into
improvement in the quality of
millions. the kind of maize we produce,
Similarly then, since those the kind of groundnuts we
5
produce, the kind of rice we fact I am certain, we will
produce, the kind of cotton or have to burn a great quantity
tobacco we produce. of the tobacco, that the Farm
ers Marketing Board bought
POOR QUALITY from the farmers this year.
Because the quality is so bad,
I have stated that this year so poor, that the price that the
our people have produced buyers are offering the Farm
more maize and tobacco, par ers Marketing Board is SO
ticularly tobacco, than we can low, that it is not worth sell
sell on the world market. The ing it at all. So, we may have
reason we are not able to sell to burn it. When I say
all the tobacco on the world we, I mean the Government
market that our people have through the Farmers Market
produced this year, is that the ing Board.
quality of tobacco produced
is very poor. The world mark
et on which we sell our tob This means that this year,
acco, for that matter any the Farmers Marketing Board
other crop, is competitive. By or the Government through
this I mean that we are not the Farmers Marketing Board,
the only country that grow has lost money or will lose
tobacco.There are other coun money on tobacco. Because
tries that grow the same to some of the tobacco that it,
bacco that we grow here. And the Farmers Marketing Board,
the people who buy tobacco has bought from our people is
in America and Europe, al very bad.
ways want tobacco of the bet
OUR AIMS
ter or best quality.
In whatever we do in this
IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY country, the observance of
unity, loyalty, obedience and
This is true not only of tob
acco, but of any other crop discipline is necessary. If we
that is produced, maize, gro are to succeed in our aim to
undnuts, rice or cotton. Those develop this country econom
who buy these crops always ically and to free ourselves
want to buy crops of the bet from financial dependence on
ter or best quality. Therefore, aid from friends or well-wish
if we in this country are to be ers overseas, we have to re
successful in competing with main united, loyal, obedient
the other countries in selling and disciplined. Unity, loyalty,
our tobacco on the world obedience and discipline, are
market at good or fair price, just as important now when
if we in this country are to we are fighting poverty, ign
succeed in selling our tobacco orance and disease, as they
at all, on the world market, were when we were fighting
our people, all over the coun the Federation and colonial
try, where tobacco is grown, ism.
must learn the importance of
quality in the production of NO TRIBALISM
tobacco. What is true of to By this, I mean what I have
bacco is equally true of all said always ever since I came,
the other crops that we sell namely, that there must be
on the world market, maize, no tribalism in the Malawi
groundnuts, rice, cotton. Congress Party. Among us
there must be no Chewa,
MONEY LOST Ngoni, Tumbuka, Tonga, Nya
While I am on this question kyusa, Yao, Lomwe or Sena.
of better quality in relation to In the observance of unity,
price, I am sad to have to tell loyalty obedience and discp
you that we may have to, in line, Party leaders at all levels
6