By Vincent Gunde
Business columnist Alick Ponje, says Finance Minister Joseph Mathyola Mwanamvekha is now facing the difficult task of restoring the country’s economic stability and rebuilding public trust.
Ponje said Malawi’s path forward requires discipline and a strong commitment to ensuring that public resources are used productively saying equally important is the government decision to limit borrowing from both local commercial banks and international community.
Writing on his business column, Ponje said for five years of the MCP led government, there have been heavy domestic borrowing crowded out the private sector because banks preferred lending to government instead of businesses and individuals.
Ponje said Mwanamvekha’s order for mega farms program and NEEF loans audit, has taken steps to address weaknesses in the system and recover misused public funds.
He said the mega farms and NEEF crises have shown how political capture, weak oversight and careless lending can destabilize key parts of the economy.
The business columnist has lamented that money that would have promoted productivity and growth was treated as easy cash and spent with little thoughts, observing that the loans ended up in the wrong hands of politicians.
He said when public funds are given out on the basis of political loyalty rather than ability, development programs lose their purpose saying poorly managed credit leads to wider economic problems, including price instability.
The business columnist said the outcome was predictable, funds were spent on personal consumption and luxury items instead of productive investment saying only a small number of beneficiaries have repaid part of their loans, most remain in default leaving billions of Kwachas unaccounted for.
” The mega farms initiative was presented as a way to improve food security and promote commercial agriculture, but in reality, it was overtaken by political loyalists and elites,” said Ponje.
He said most of NEEF beneficiaries lacked the knowledge or experience needed for large – scale farming lamenting that loans meant for productive agricultural projects, were given to individuals who were not prepared to manage them properly.
Meanwhile, social media platforms have been flooded with growing calls of anger and frustrations by Malawians including MCP members and supporters to the DPP led government to confiscate property of all NEEF loan defaulters for the money recovered to be channelled to equally important projects.
