BLANTYRE--Pres Joyce Banda paid tribute to the late Steven Smith Mijiga on Saturday, saying he was a good father.

“It’s unfortunate that some men are only good at fathering children but they fail to shoulder the responsibility of bringing them up with good morals,” Malawi News Agency (Mana) quoted Banda as saying when she attended the burial ceremony of Mijinga who was the first Malawian Post Master General during the Kamuzu Banda era. Banda said others should emulate Mijiga.

“You can look at all of his (Mijiga’s) children and everyone else who was brought up in the household; they are all self reliant and children you can identify with,” said Banda.

Pres Banda also had kind words for Mijiga's widow.

“It's not always the case that women will stick by their husbands even in the most difficult times like terminal illness. They will tell you they are tired and they pack up and leave,” Banda said.      

Mijiga, who died Thursday, was 78.
---
©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment.