Bernama reported quoting Xinhua that Mutharika made the announcements in Thyolo District, where he attended an annual cultural festival for the Lhomwe people.

The Malawian leader, who was sworn in on Oct 4 as the country’s seventh president following his victory in the Sept 16 presidential election, described education as key to national development, urging parents and guardians in the country to ensure that every school-age child attends school.

“Parents will now have no excuse for failing to send their children to school. We want our children to be educated because without education, there can be no development,” said Mutharika.

On food security, the president assured all Malawians affected by hunger that “everything is set” and that he had sent the country’s minister of agriculture to Zambia to finalise the maize deal.