By Chikumbutso Mtumodzi, Dowa
Before ascending to power, President Lazarus Chakwera promised Malawians that his administration will deliver social and economic development, which will translate into better and uplifted lives for common folks in town and villages across the country.
Today, that promise is sprouting into a sweet rounded story of development initiatives taking place across the country. This development includes infrastructure, human development, social protection, Agriculture, energy and other various forms of development in between.
Social Protection Programs
Under President Chakwera, the government introduced various programs aimed at cushioning the impact of shocks and global factors on the Malawian ultra poor. One of such programs is the Affordable Inputs Program (AIP), which is meant to provide poor farmers in the country with agriculture inputs to become food sufficient at household level and also some to sell.
The government also made improvements on the Social Cash Transfer system, which is a program introduced by the previous government but significantly improved under the government of President Chakwera. Under this program, poor households are provided with some cash on a regular basis to allow them access to basic stuff such as food and clothing.
The program is also meant to cushion poor households against the pangs of global factors that cause prices of commodities to rise. The Tonse Alliance government increased the number of beneficiaries on the program on top of increasing the amount paid to individuals.
On top of this, the Chakwera government is also distributing items such as bags of maize to ultra poor households to help them see through the lean period.
Agriculture
Mega farms have been thought to be one of the ways through which this country will be able to solve the problem of perpetual hunger and food insecurity at both household and national level. Mega farms will be a major source of employment for Malawians, particularly youths in the rural areas and semi-urban centres.
Currently, some Nega farms are already operating with some under way in Chipoka, Salima, Nkopola, Mangochi, Katunga- Maseya in Chikwawa under Agriculture Commercialisation and Mega Farms owned by the Malawi Defence Force and Malawi Prison service.
There are also other Agriculture Commercialisation projects in the Lower Shire like the Intensive irrigation projects under Shire Valley Transformation Project, and also other schemes across the country such as in the Wowo in Phalombe, Lingoni, Matoponi, Mafinga and Marko in Chitipa, Mlooka in Zomba, Ukanga, Wovwe, Mphinga, Chonanga, Hara and Mzenga
These are some of the projects that are being implimented under agriculture commercialization in order to create value in the whole agriculture value chain.
Tourism
The Government of President Lazarus Chakwera understand that tourism is key to the social and economic development of the country, and could be a major foreign exchange earner for this country in the medium to long term.
This is why some transformative radical changes have been made in the tourism sector under President Lazarus Chakwera. In January 2023, the government introduced a VISA waiver applying to nationals from key tourism markets such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Belgium, Italy, France, Poland and Nordic Countries, which include Norway, Finland and Sweden.
Negotiations and plans are also under way to introduce direct flights into the country from these major tourism markets. On top of this, the road networks to key tourism sites are being comprehensively improved.
The Ministry of Tourism also launched an international media marketing campaign in strategic places and through strategic personalities and platforms in order to woo as many tourists as possible to the Malawi destination.
Mining
In realizing the importance of mining in the overall development of the country’s economy, the government established the Mining Regulatory Authority in a bid to bring order and sanity to the industry, and to ensure that the country does not lose its precious minerals to crooks under the alias of international investors.
The establishment of the authority brought about the establishment, capitalization and operationalisation of the National Mining Company under the Ministry of Mining to take care of some of the major government investments in the mining sector, particularly in ensuring that Malawians are benefiting from mineral resources under their feet.
The Malawi Congress Party led government is also currently reviewing poorly negotiated mining agreements on top of constructing a state-of-the-art mineral processing laboratory complex to carter for the sector. The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has also been given a new designation to manage the gold market with the purpose to ensure that proceeds are well accounted for, and that traders are earning decent incomes from the same.
Trade and Industry
The trade and industry sector is by no doubt the crux of the economy because the private sector is the engine of economic growth. The MCP led government under the wise stewardship of President Chakwera introduced One Stop Border Post at Mchinji-Mwami Border as one way of ensuring easy clearing of cargo by traders and also to boost revenue collection by the government through Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA).
This is also the case at Dedza-Colomue and Mwanza-Zobue Border Posts. The Ministry of Tade and Industry has also put in place measures to regulate the exporting of legumes such as pigeon peas, soya and beans as well as fresh vegetables and maize flour to ensure that farmers are earning a decent income and that the resultant forex is not wasted by crooks
*This is one of the entries in a serious of entries compiled to demonstrate the commitment of President Lazarus Chakwera and the MCP led government to the national development agenda of the country. The author compiled it in his personal capacity*
