Your Excellency, Hastings BandaMr Life President, Your Excellencies, members of the Central Committee, Ministers, Members, Namatamandekesemira (phon), My Lord Chief Justice, Your Grace Archbishop, Mr Worshipful Mayor, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
May I thank you most warmly, Mr Life President, for the way in which you proposed the toast to Her Majesty The Queen. And may I say it is a very great joy and pleasure to be with you as the first British Prime Minister to visit Malawi following her Independence.
May I thank you also for the wonderful reception we have been given, for your personal hospitality, and for the very kind words in your speech. [end p1]
May I also say how immensely pleased we were, Mr Life President, when you paid your highly successful State Visit to Britain in 1985, a very successful visit. It is particularly remembered because we welcomed you not as a stranger but as one of us.
You lived among us for so many years, first in Scotland and then in England, and there are so many people who remember you from that time and your kindness and your goodness to them.
When I was reading about Malawi before coming on this visit I was struck by the parallels between you Mr President and Dr Livingstone, the great British explorer who was the first European to set foot in your land.
You both loved the classics. Livingstone went to work at the age of ten and used his first week's wages to buy a Latin grammar. We know, Sir, of your formidable acquaintance with classical history. Both of you trained as doctors in Edinburgh and everyone knows that is where the best doctors come from. You were both active churchmen, Livingstone as a medical missionary for the Independent Church and you, Sir, as an Elder of the Church of Scotland, a title so fearsome that ordinary mortals quail at the sound of it.
And just like the great Dr Livingstone, you have those Scottish virtues of personal piety, hard work, the zeal for education and a sense of mission. [end p2]
You have used those qualities to the full in first creating and then leading a nation. This year your people celebrate a quarter of a century of Independence under that leadership: a quarter of a century of peace and stability unrivalled in Africa.
I remember how worried we were at the time of the Federation because Malawi had, we thought, the least good soil and might not be able to feed herself. But you persuaded your people to concentrate on good husbandry so that now your agriculture flourishes, as I have been seeing for myself. Had other countries followed your example we should have far fewer problems in Africa today.
You have also believed in the importance of education as an investment in the future and in that you have taken your cue from Socrates. You will remember that he said: “There is only one good—knowledge; and only one evil—ignorance.”
You have had the courage to take difficult decisions on your economy when they have been required by the World Bank and the IMF because you knew that in the long-term it was the best thing for your people.
And more recently you and your people have shown outstanding generosity towards hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring Mozambique. I saw that for myself when I visited Mankhokwe today. The burden on your economy has been a heavy one but you have borne it cheerfully, your people welcoming refugees into their villages and giving them land on which to grow crops. [end p3]
I think we all remember the words of St Matthew's Gospel: “For I was hungry and you gave me meat, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in” . You have done that, Sir, on a scale hitherto unknown. Your people have shown by their actions the true spirit of Christian charity and compassion.
Mr Life President, Malawi is one of Britain's closest friends. We have counted it a privilege to play a part in your development and I can say with pride that it has been, as you indicated, quite a substantial part. We have provided over £335 million in bilateral aid since Independence. More than 150 British Advisers are devoted to the future of your country and people. And I was able to tell you earlier today that we shall be contributing the further £10 million which you mentioned in your speech, Balance of Payments support, over and above the £30 million provided since 1987.
We help Malawi because we have faith in what you are doing and know that you will spend the money wisely and well to build your nation's strength.
Mr Life President, I have come to Malawi with the conviction that this is a time of new hope for Southern Africa. We have the agreement on Independence for Namibia. Now there will be free and fair elections, just like those which Britain organised in Zimbabwe nine years ago. [end p4]
We have secured a timetable for withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. President Chissano told me yesterday of his determination to bring to an end the violence in Mozambique and I know your army has been helping in that task.
And within South Africa one sees a growing acceptance that discrimination, based on race and colour, must end and will end and that black South Africans will be allowed to play their part in politics and government.
Our response must not be to hit out with sanctions but to do everything possible to encourage fundamental change in South Africa and bring the settlement in Namibia to a successful conclusion. Because we can then begin to look forward at last to what you, Mr Life President, and indeed all of us want most to see: a Southern Africa at peace, free from discrimination and oppression and able to develop its tremendous natural resources.
That is truly one of the greatest and most pressing tasks facing our world. A dream of justice, fairness and prosperity for all the people of Southern Africa. There could be no better ambition.
Mr Life President, it is nearly Cinderella's hour. May I thank you once more for your hospitality. We have loved every minute of our stay here, brief as it has been. You have taken us into the warm heart of Africa and given us memories which we shall cherish for a lifetime. [end p5]
We have marvelled at your own strength and vitality, Mr President. You will I am sure know the words of the great Latin poet, Ovid: “Acta senem faciunt” which, should any of you have forgotten what it means, I will translate: “A man may never [sic] be called old except on the basis of his achievements” .
It is only in achievements, Mr Life President, that you have a goodly number of years to your credit because in spirit you are younger than any of us.
So may I propose a toast to the friendship of Britain and Malawi, to the prosperity and and well-being of our peoples, and to the health, happiness and long life of your Life President, President Banda.
The Life President, your health and happiness.