The Maravi Post

MZUZU--President Joyce Banda has hit back at her critics who always call her "mai wa mandasi" saying the title is an honour to her as it shows how close she is to ordinary Malawians.

Women from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by former first lady Callista Mutharika, have been making the remark in reference to her earlier work as head of the National Association of Business Women which provided small loans to poor women. Some of the women went into mandasi (fritters) business to support their families.

Pres. Banda says the ‘mai wa mandasi’ title does much honour than harm to her as it is the true description of who she is.

“Actually, when they call me a mandasi woman, they are honouring me and I’m very proud of it. This is a clear testimony through their own mouths that I have reached out to so many women for the past decade. That is the same journey that has seen me becoming the most powerful woman in Africa,” Pres. Banda said on Sunday in Nkhata Bay.
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(c) The Maravi Post 2013

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