They were also responsible for identifying potential candidates who would then be dispatched to MYP bases for more training during the three-month school vacations between July and October each year.

The Spearhead Company, an MYP business unit, was created and soon spread its influence, alongside Dr. Banda's Press Corporation Limited throughout Malawi's economy.

During the early days this enabled the MYP to discern themselves from the Youth Leaguers, The Red Shirts, arm of The Malawi Congress Party in that they kept a respectable distance from the political excesses involved.

This was a 'self-help' week when initially the Young Pioneers would hold parades, demonstrate their skills in various spheres of economic activity to underscore the contribution they were making to national development as well as affirm their loyalty to Dr Banda and his government.

[2] Over time the Youth Week was extended into a month-long event and other members of the Malawian society, school children and later University students, were drafted in to 'donate' their labor and sweat in various local projects, classroom construction, footpaths and bridge repairing etc.

To ensure such 'slave labor' was readily available the MYP transformed into an overzealous 'third security force' policing party meetings, markets, bus stations, Youth Week Programs and extracting 'tithes' that had to be handed to Dr Banda during his annual 'crop inspection tours' and political rallies as 'gifts from his people'.

They conducted secret surveillance whilst they worked in farms, offices and warehouses, houses, garages, shops, training bases, etc.

[4] They were dismantled violently after the 1993 elections during Operation Bwezani "Give Back" or "Return" that was conducted by the then army commander general Manken Chigawa.