Some chiefs and community members in Mdeka in Blantyre on Friday demanded allowances from National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust for attending a mindset change community engagement.

The demands started midway during the event as some of the chiefs and community members quizzed the Nice Trust officials on what they will gain from attending the event, stressing they could not attend without getting something.

A cross-section of some of the community members that attended the meeting

The chiefs and community members said the Nice Trust officials could not go to the event in a luxurious vehicle and not give them money. They were referring to a Toyota Hilux Double Cabin that ferried the Nice Trust officials and one journalist.

Regardless of the situation, Nice Trust officials went ahead to discuss the mindset change topic while convincing them on why they should not demand handouts.

In an interview after the engagement, group village head Chilipa condemned the demands by his subordinates and the community members, saying there is need for them to have a mindset change on handouts.

He hailed Nice Trust for holding the community engagement in his area.

Nice Trust district civic education expert for Blantyre Urban and Rural, Glory Maulidi, said there is still a long way to go on mindset change as witnessed at the meeting.

She said: “What I have noticed is that there is a long way to go to ensure that people change their mindsets in the way they are thinking, in the way they are handling things and in the way they are perceiving things.”

Maulidi said they were compelled to hold the meeting to sensitise the community members on mindset change in line with Malawi 2063 (MW2063) which is the country’s long-term development blueprint.

Vice-President Saulos Chilima has in recent times been pushing the agenda for mindset change among Malawians as one way of fostering development.

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