By Durrell Namasani
UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford MP who is visiting the country on Thursday visited Kanengo Industrial area in the capital Lilongwe to see UK-Malawi partnership in promoting environmentally responsible investment in sustainable construction materials. Later in the day she visited the family planning clinic in Kawale to see how the UK is supporting to strengthen the health system and tackle rapid population growth
According to message from UK embassy in Malawi, This comes at a time when Malawi has lost 50% of forest cover in the last 40 years partly due to demand for wood used in firing of traditional bricks.
The economic partnership through $5m investment by British International Investment (BII) in 14 Trees will protect the environment and boost Malawi’s economic development.
Vick ford who was in Zambia prior to coming to Malawi has spoken of the need for increased trade and investment in Africa.
In her statement released a week ago she highlighted that African economies are rapidly transforming into global economic powerhouses, with the continent forecast to be the home of one in four global consumers by 2050. This remarkable growth potential presents boundless opportunities for African and UK businesses.
“As the world’s largest free trade area, connecting 1.3 billion people, the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will simplify the existing web of the continent’s regional trade agreements by providing one set of rules to govern trade in goods and services.
The opportunities this creates has the power to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, drive industrialisation, create jobs, and generate significant benefits for women” she wrote.
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s Development Finance Institution, invested over £800 million across Africa in 2020 alone to support productive, sustainable and inclusive growth
After the visit in Kanengo, Vicky Ford went to Kawale Township where she visited a Family Planning Association of Malawi to see how the UK is supporting to strengthen the health system and help young women access family planning services.
