By Pemphero Malimba:
Some experts have warned government officials not to regard labour exports as a long-term solution to foreign exchange shortages and other problems that are besetting the country.
This comes at a time government has announced that it plans to export 100,000 young Malawians to work in Israel.
President Lazarus Chakwera revealed the labour export move in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Friday.
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He delivered the Sona at Parliament Building.
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According to Chakwera, government is on course to signing a government-to-government agreement with Israel, saying this would translate to $6 million in a year in remittances.
However, economist Arthur Ngwende said in as far as the deal will benefit Malawi in remittances, it must not be treated as a long-term solution.
“In labour export, you take out people that would develop a country and put them in another country. What this usually means is that government had invested in the youth from primary school [to tertiary education level], only to give all that investment to other countries,” he said.
Ngwende said the country would still be investing in schools but will not benefit from that, apart from getting remittances.
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“So, if you take into consideration the fact that we are exporting labour, you will realise that what is happening is that we are removing all the investment we made in those youths. So, yes, in the meantime, it makes sense but, in the longer term, it does not make sense to export labour,” he said.
Social commentator Lucky Mbewe concurred with Ngwende, adding that exporting labour “simply means accepting that promises that were made have failed”.
“In view of challenges that Malawians are facing, exporting labour appears to be the only way out to address unemployment challenges caused by unfulfilled promises and policies that the Tonse Alliance made,” Mbewe said.
Recently, Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda revealed that government had realised $475,000 in December 2023 from labour exports to Israel.
Hundreds of Malawian youths are working in Israel farms.
