The chief has urged members of the organization to avoid bringing politics into their work.

Kawinga said this during the organization's annual general meeting in Liwonde.

“Most groups when being formed start out as groups that will help contribute to the development of the country but, along the way, they lose track because they start politics,” said Kawinga.

The group is composed of professionals with different backgrounds but all from Machinga.

Friends of Machinga board chair, Elizabeth Chilima Mleme, said the group, which begun as a Whatsapp group in 2016, aims to ensure development in education, health and environment.

“As the theme says, Make Machinga Green we want everything that was dead in the district to be alive again.

“For instance Education, we want people in the district to at least attain basic education,” she said.

Mleme said going forward they plan to establish a company as a way of sourcing income for the group's activities as currently they do not have a donor.

Guest of Honour at the function, Professor Richard Tambulasi, who is the Principal at Chancellor College urged the group to ensure that they achieve their goals of enhancing development.