Youth Net and Counselling (Yoneco) has singled out hate speeches and political violence as major factors affecting the country’s development.

Yoneco’s Executive Director, MacBain Mkandawire, said political leaders fail to sustain developmental programs due to intolerance.

Mkandawire described the situation as an unfortunate and undemocratic.

“In democracy you differ in political ideologies but you don’t use that as a tool to hate each other,” he told YFM Online.

Mkandawire also said political leaders fail to move on from mistakes which were done under past regimes.

“When UDF got into power anything that had got to do with MCP was trashed and when DPP went into power anything that had got to do with UDF was trashed,” he said.

“When PP was in power anything to do with DPP was trashed.”

“When DPP came back to power anything that PP was doing was trashed because of the hate speech that is there.”

Mkandawire therefore urged political leaders to concentrate on the future for the benefit of development.

He also urged political leaders to focus on issue based campaign and refrain from using the youth to perpetrate violence.