Donor dependency bad for Malawi—Mejn

The Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) has described as bad Malawi’s continued tendency to depend on donors 53 years after independence.

The economic watchdog has since likened Malawi to a baby in diapers who does not want to grow economically even at that age.

However, authorities maintain that efforts are in progress to ensure that the country does not depend on donor aid.

Mejn Executive Director, Dalitso Kubalasa, said this in Mulanje during a Shared Learning event that drew together Area Development Committee, (ADCs) members from Zomba, Dowa, Mulanje, among other districts.

The event was meant to share experiences, success stories of how ADCs use Community Development Funds (CDF) in their locations.

Kubalasa hinted that Malawians want to see development results from their taxes, unlike hearing of the various incidents to do with corruption, which he said damages the country’s reputation.

“Shared learning is paramount and we will ensure that parliamentarians are included in these meetings next time for them to hear what people want. At the same time, Malawi needs to grow and exit from the donor dependency syndrome,” he said.

Kubalasa, noted that it was painful that Malawi’s donor aid dependency actions are being linked to that of a baby in diapers.

“You know how a baby behaves; it depends on the mother for anything despite age, which is what Malawi is at the moment. We could have been independent if we had been prudent,” Kubalasa said.

He further said Malawi needs to grow so that money generated locally is used to generate more funds by investing in the production, tourism, among other sectors for forex attraction.

“I also wonder if Capital Hill has been prudent enough in using part of the K1.4 trillion approved funds six months down the line. Although, it is locally funded but we have previously failed to use such funds,” he said.

The comment also comes few days before Parliament convenes for a Mid-term-budget review in Lilongwe.