UTM president, Dalitso Kabambe, Friday treated students at the University of Malawi to an economics and development lecture at the institution.
He committed to fix Malawi’s situation and improve the quality of life of people once elected into office as president of the country.
Kabambe described Malawi’s economic situation as a case of a stunted growth child who has remained in that condition since the ousting of colonial rule in 1964.
He said nations like China and Kenya that were at the same level with Malawi in various respects then have been growing stronger and taller while Malawi remains stuck.
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He attributed these developments to poor management of the economy, corruption, narrow agriculture exports and collapsing education standards, among others.
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The former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor said Malawi’s budgetary process has not been properly managed for a long time.
“Overvalued exchange rate has been a major challenge. You have overvalued your kwacha making it go K4,000 [to a dollar] on a black market. If we talk of exchange rate policy, it’s never stable. I can say Malawi’s economy is bizarre,” he said.
He said Malawi cannot earn significant sums through agricultural exports because it produces little tobacco, tea and sugar.
Kabambe also tackled in corruption, arguing it has permeated every aspect of the society.
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“Do a simple life audit, check on your driving licence, COF [Certificate of Fitness], passport…everything is being done through a corrupt practice,” he said.
He was also critical of tribalism.
“It’s not about merit anymore; it’s about where you come from. Our condition today, ability to think, and all our suffering is because we have been doing things wrongly,” he said.
Kabambe said his administration would fix these challenges and make Malawi thrive.
He said he took the lecture to the university considering that youths constitute a majority of the country’s population and wanted to challenge them to lead in transforming the country.
“We need a generation which is different from us. The country has less than 20 oncologists. I wish to encourage you to work hard and take up these positions,” he said.
He said over the years, Malawi has not adequately invested in education.
“Investing properly in education is crucial. Access to education in secondary and tertiary education must be improved,” said Kabambe.
He said his government is ready to improve education as it is critical in driving national growth.
“Some students are sleeping in places that would make one feel sorry. Your fees is higher. When you finish school, there are no jobs but when I was finishing in 1998, I had 5 jobs in waiting,” he said.
Kabambe delivered the lecture under the title ‘Economic Transformation: A Generation Mandate.”
