Mtambo speaks highly of Uganda Study Tour- Malawi on the path  to mindset change for the implementation of Vision 2063 agenda

By Ralph Munthali

The Minister of Civic Education and National Unity Timothy Mtambo who is in Kampala the Capital City of Uganda,leading a Malawian delegation on a study tour of governance and mindset change initiatives  has spoken highly of Malawi’s efforts  to engrain Mindset change it its citizenry in order to help implement the Vision 2063 agenda

Mtambo was speaking on Tuesday when he met with the Uganda’s Minister of State for Economic Monitoring Honourable Peter Ogwangwa . During their discussions, the two Ministers shared experiences and notes on the importance of mindset , national values and ethical leadership in the realisation of Malawi’s and Uganda ‘s national visions. Mtambo also shared a copy of the Malawi Vision 2063 document with his counterpart while Ogwangwa also presented to Mtambo Ugandan National Development Strategy. Uganda is implementing Vision 2040.

The Minister is leading a seven man delegation comprising of Officials from his Ministry of National Unity , National Planning Commission , NICE Public Trust Malawi and Malawi Public Sector Reforms on a study tour of mindset change and good governance initiatives as the Republic of Malawi prepares to set up a Governance Training Institute which will be central to the implementation of the Malawi Agenda 2063. Prior to the meeting Mtambo and the Malawi delegation also took time to visit Makerere University

In his speech during the meeting with Minister Ogwangwa, Mtambo thanked the Uganda Government for accepting to host Malawi officials highlighting that Ugandas’s governance structures and institutions and strong and effective decentralisation systems that are benefitting many citizens in the country were strong enough reasons for his delegation to learn a lot from the  host country.

“Malawi needs to open up to the opportunities that are available within the Eastern and Southern Africa region and Uganda offers some light in this regard through its robust training institutions that are moulding leaders and citizens to face the reality with proper information, knowledge and skills that have the potential to turn any nation into a political, moral and economic paradise” said Mtambo

Mtambo said he was highly confident that the lessons that his delegation had  learnt shall help Malawi to cement its dreams of having a governance institute that will offer tailor made courses to help shape the nation’s destiny

In Speaking about his Civic Education Ministry, Mtambo told the Uganda counterparts that his ministry is new and was only introduced when Tonse Alliance came in power. He , however said within the time of the Ministry’s existence  a lot has been achieved already . He also divulged on some of the future plans that his ministry has in place  “the ministry is putting in place some mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of measures that promote peaceful coexistence as well as a culture of unity of purpose for pursuit of common national development objectives among Malawians through the National Peace Commission. The Ministry is also taking a lead to ensure that as a nation, Malawi is able to reflect on its past and identify issues that have been dividing the citizens and identify solutions to unify Malawians so that they strive for broad based national development and prosperity. As part of achievements, the Ministry has initiated the peace and unity bill which has been passed by the national assembly”

Mtambo went on to say A national civic education policy was launched in October 2020 and a government, citizen engagement platform and district peace committees have been established to foster unity and peace in communities.

Among the Malawi delegation included officials from National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE).  Mtambo told the gathering that Through its Strategic Plan, NICE is emphasizing on transformative civic education to the masses for empowerment as part of its core approach to citizen empowerment.

“The key strategy is called voice and accountability and transformative community mobilization. The governance institute is one way of responding to Malawi’s governance and leadership challenges since NICE’s vision is to see a well-informed, empowered, responsive and transformed Malawian society that actively participates in public life”.

The minister also announced that the study tour will be an experiential learning that will draw lessons that will massively contribute towards the establishment of NICE’s Governance Training Centre that will be an instrument for the much-needed mindset change in the short, medium, and long term.

Mtambo also talked about Government initiative of Public Sector Reforms. He said  it  is  expected that the effective implementation of Public Sector Reforms will enable the Government to, among other things, position the public service to meet high customer expectations, change the work culture of the public service, enhance ethics and integrity in the public service, focus on the achievement of expected outcomes, take advantage of technological advancements, address issues of transparency and accountability, ensure prudent management of public resources, improve revenue collection, have a leaner