British High Commissioner to Malawi Fiona Ritchie has called on Malawi to iron out bottlenecks that deter potential investors, if the country is to achieve aspirations of Malawi 2063.
She made the call on Thursday in Blantyre during birthday celebrations of King Charles III.
Ritchie said the government alone cannot work towards achieving aspirations outlined in the development blueprint, hence the need to empower the private sector players and woo more investors.
Ritchie said Malawi faces myriad challenges that scare away investors.
“There is a need for constructive dialogue between the private sector and the government and that is something that the UK is committed to fostering as much as possible so that there are more investments in the country,” Ritchie said.
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Blantyre City Mayor Wild Ndipo graced the occasion.
In his remarks, Ndipo said while, in particular, the city has lagged in attracting investors, it is making headways in engaging with businesses to invest in various sectors.
“We have made our bylaws friendly to investors; we have supported the improvement for the provision of utilities but we are also lobbying more for tax holidays for new investors,” Ndipo said.
In an interview, Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola Banda said the government is committed to ironing out the challenges.
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“Time for doing business as usual is over. You might have seen some progress in the way we do trade now. Therefore we want to invite investors as Malawi is ready to host them,” Banda said.
Malawi is a net importer.
