By Kingsley Jassi:
Private sector players feel there has not been tangible support to induce their dynamism for increased productivity to propel growth.
Policy inconsistencies, ‘harsh’ forex regulations and other hostilities are said to be contributing to the local industry’s faltering.
The World Bank observes that the country’s industrial output has been declining over the years, warning that this would deepen Malawi’s economic crisis if it remains unchecked.
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Private sector umbrella body, the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI), and other industry players raised concerns during the unveiling of policy notes by the United Nations, World Bank and African Development Bank in Lilongwe on Thursday.
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The policy notes suggest fiscal consolidation to reduce pressure and address the public debt crisis, optimising revenue collections and unlocking potential industries and some of the short, medium and long-term solutions the government needs to consider as it works on the national economic recovery plan.
MCCCI Chief Executive Officer Daisy Kambalame said less energy had been deployed by the authorities in recent years to address private sector productivity constraints.
“Any economic recovery that has no private sector as a key contributor cannot be a credible and sustainable recovery.
“The economy needs private sector dynamism to recover and that can only be achieved if we all get together and be intentional about it,” Kambalame said.
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In a separate interview, National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Chief Executive Officer Bettie Chinyamunyamu said the rhetoric about private sector-driven economic growth needed to be actualised.
Malawi Chamber of Mining National Coordinator Grain Malunga lamented what he rated as prohibitive forex regulations that, he said, discourage exports, thereby stifling operations as access is tightened.
“It is very difficult to even access your own forex in the bank. How can one be motivated to make more forex?” Malunga said.
National Planning Commission (NPC) Director General Fredrick Changaya said inconsistencies in policy direction were a deterrent to investment.
“No one will invest if policies on exports and prices are not predictable. When one invests to export, and the government issues an export ban mid-way, that investor loses out,” Changaya said.
However, he assured that a high-level committee working directly with the State President was already working on an economic recovery pathway, looking at implementing the governing party’s manifesto in the perspective of the Malawi 2063 vision.
He said interventions would be on private sector support while some tools are also being developed to strengthen the needed reforms, citing a fiscal dashboard that will enhance fiscal transparency and accountability while the same will also apply to the procurement system.
He further said the public private partnership approach would take lead in the investments.
