By Durell Namasani
The combination of MCP President Dr Lazarus Chakwera and UTM president Dr Saulos Chilima as candidates for the Tonse Alliance has received a massive boost after British based investment expert said the duo are perfect if Malawi economy is to thrive
Professor Derrick Monk of investment advisory group FDI center said Chakwera and Chilima represents confidence that investors need to invest in a country
“ it is very simple to work that out when you compare the two sets of candidates in Mutharika/Muluzi and Chakwera/Chilima. Chakwera and Chilima represents hope and that’s what investors look forward to“. He went further to say the duo easily satisfy the political factors that attracts foreign investments that include political commitment and stability.
Monk whose organisation has advised several African and South American government on how to attract foreign direct investment said he sees potential for great economic growth as Malawi has a lot of mineral resources that have heavily been under invested because of corrupt leaders. He said Malawi as a country has failed to take advantage of its natural resources to attract investors due to lack of proper systems and lack of government know how.
Professor Monk said it is very hard to assume that Malawi economy will get better with Mutharika and Muluzi in power. “ Mutharika and Muluzi represents continuity and that means political instability will continue, infrastructure development will be a challenge and the high levels of corruption will deter investors”
Monk said looking back at the years of DPP in power , Malawi has suffered from lack of investments due to the government failure to provide skilled workforce, lack of development in good roads and transportation systems which leads to high transportation costs, There has been consistent unreliability of supply of water and electricity and inefficient public institutions and difficulties in accessing credit.
Malawi Investment has seen stagnated growth since Mutharika came to power. According to Trading economics in 2019 Malawi only enjoyed 112 million US dollars of foreign direct investment. Priority areas for Malawi investment include Tourism, Agriculture and Agro processing, mining, energy ,manufacturing and ICT.
