By Wezzie Gausi:
President Lazarus Chakwera has said selling his Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) Strategy is one of his must-do things at the Fourth Summit Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) in Beijing, China, scheduled for this week.
Chakwera said this yesterday, when he departed for China through Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe.
In the Asian country, Chakwera will join other African heads of State and government to consider and adopt the 2025-27 Beijing Focac Plan of Action which will guide China-Africa engagements in various sectors for the next three years.
The President will also hold bilateral talks with Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.
“The meeting is expected to strengthen the cordial bilateral relations between Malawi and China and further enhance Malawi-China cooperation in various transport infrastructure projects.
“And we are certain that Malawi will benefit a lot from this summit,” Chakwera said.
However, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira said foreign trips have not had the desired effects on the country.
“Sadly, such foreign trips have had no matching impact on the lives of poor Malawians. If anything, they are just a drain on the limited resources the country has. We wish the President could leverage on this to mobilise investors to invest meaningfully in, for instance, the Mega Farms project because this is what will grow our economy,” Kambwandira said.
On his part, economist Marvin Banda said even though Focac has consistently supplied Africa with valuable development financing across many sectors, providing modern infrastructure and trade opportunities, Malawi must be cautious to avoid becoming over-dependent on debt financing.
He said the country is already in distress because Focac has been the vehicle of choice for the Chinese government to provide loans to Africa.
“By aligning Malawi’s growth strategy with agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and mining, Focac can be utilised to support value chain advancement and sustainable growth, which would propel the economy into a manufacturing economy.
“As at now, the government is aiming to find partnerships that will aim to expand Malawi’s infrastructure development through the Agriculture, Tourism and Mining Strategy,” Banda said.
Chakwera is expected to return home on Saturday through Chileka International Airport in Blantyre.
