Second Vice-President Enock Kanzingeni Chihana has called for peaceful coexistence between families displaced from Kasasile in Nkhata Bay and residents of Maji Estate in Mpherembe, Mzimba District.
Chihana made the appeal on Wednesday during a visit to the estate, where government has secured 600 hectares of land to resettle 367 displaced households.
The families were evicted from the Viphya Firing Range by the Malawi Defence Force in August 2024.
He said President Peter Mutharika had directed that the land be shared between the displaced families and the existing community.
Chihana assured both groups that government would extend development initiatives to the area, including the Ntukula Pakhomo programme and the Affordable Inputs Programme.
He also highlighted plans for improved social services, including schools, a health facility and better road infrastructure.
Chihana urged the communities to embrace one another despite their cultural differences, emphasising the need for unity and peaceful coexistence as Malawians.
Meanwhile, Mzimba West Member of Parliament Aeckim Kumwenda and Senior Traditional Authority Mpherembe have appealed to government to secure additional farmland from Spearhead Holdings.
They said the 600 hectares may not be enough to accommodate the families, whose livelihoods largely depend on farming.
