Budget presentation Friday
Friday Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe is expected to present to Parliament the 2017/2018 national budget at a time when consumer confidence in the economy remains low.
It also comes at a time when the private sector, considered the engine for development, is still bleeding riddled by high taxes and high cost of borrowing on the financial market.
The development has forced some firms to downsize in a desperate attempt to survive while others have closed shop. This has ended up fuelling unemployment levels.
With the country expected to record a bumper harvest this year, the weight of expectations seems to have shifted to job creation.
In an interview, James Chirwa, a resident of Blantyre said he expects the Minister of Finance to provide solutions to the growing levels of unemployment in the country.
“That Malawi is facing one of the worst levels of unemployment is not a secret. I hope the Finance Minister will provide clear strategies on how his government intends to create jobs in the short to medium term,” Chirwa said
Thirty-two year-old Mary Chindevu agreed with Chirwa that the country needs to start creating jobs again so that its youths become productive.
Chindebvu said the current situation where millions of school leavers are just staying idle in their homes without any jobs is not ideal for any country.
Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) president, Henry Kachaje, said his association expects Gondwe to pump enough resources in areas that promote production rather than consumption.
Kachaje said boosting production, especially in agriculture, would help create the much-needed jobs in industries, most of which are involved in agro processing.
He further said Ecama expects the implementation of fair taxes which would help to grow industries rather than stifling them.
Goodall hinted during a pre-budget consultation session held in Blantyre that he expects the 2017/18 financial plan to be around K1.2 trillion, just like last year.
