UDF presidential aspirant Atu¬pele Muluzi has roped into his campaign Thoko Banda, son to renowned politician Aleke Banda, to boost his chances of winning the sym¬pathy of young voters in the country.

Muluzi said on Thursday that his party has engaged a deliberate initiative to bring on board young people from both diaspora and home.

Banda who once served as Malawi's deputy ambassador to Germany until 2003 said he will use his experience and skill to harness ideas from young people to bring about ultimate change in the country.

"Having lived abroad for a long time I listened attentively to Muluzi's plea to help in formulating policies that would change the course of this country. I decided to come and support him and people of like mind. Young people in this country have the energy but lack encouragement and that is what I have come to provide," Banda said.

He comes at a time when the party has planned a policy conference where it is expected to generate ideas for the party's elections manifesto.

"It is an honour for me to serve my country once more. Policy conferences are not common in this part of the world. It is essential to let people discuss issues from where sound policies can be drawn. I believe that Malawi can change for the better in a short period of time, if I was in doubt I would not have come back home," he said.

Banda has been teaching leadership at Karlsruhe University in Germa¬ny said he did not have any ambitions for positions in UDF.

"I am interested in people and not positions. That is why I came now not before the UDF convention. In fact I am not a stranger in the party as I have served as its representative in the Unit¬ed States," he said.

Muluzi expressed optimism at that Banda's coming would attract other young people in diaspora to come and help in the development of the country.

"We just hope he can settle down and make a big contribution. Meanwhile, we will continue calling more young professionals to join our ranks. This is a deliberate policy that we want to see young people especially here in Malawi harness their skills to develop our land together," said Muluzi.