Malawi has been appointed the champion of National Planning Entities (NPEs), a collection of national planning commissions and planning ministries in the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) region.
The appointment is in recognition of efforts by Malawi, led by the National Planning Commission, in revamping the platform which has been inactive from 2015.
The country, along with Zambia and the Economic Commission for Africa’s sub-regional office for Southern Africa (ECA-SRO), has been among key champions of the institution’s revamping since 2021.
Malawi National Planning Commission Director General Thomas Munthali rated the platform as ideal for enhanced corroboration among countries in the region.
“This is an important recognition by platform members of Malawi’s commitment to being a key regional player beyond looking at its own national development priorities. Malawi believes that individual Sadc countries will benefit more if there is a healthy regional economy,” Munthali said.
As champion, Malawi along with Zambia and ECA-SRO will, among other roles, support efforts towards the sustainability of the commission through resource mobilisation as well as rallying support of the Sadc political leadership and partners to the key role that planners play in domesticating agreed regional development priorities at the national level.
