President Dr Lazarus Chakwera is this morning attending the National Development Conference in Lilongwe.
The conference has brought together development experts to take stock of how the country is fairing in the implementation of the Malawi 2063 in the first year of the implementation plan which covers ten years.
Making a keynote presentation, Maxwell Mkwezalamba, former African Union Commissioner for Economic Affairs said it is understandable that progress has been slow due to Covid 19, unfavourable weather conditions, inflation, and the Russia – Ukraine war which disrupted value chains.
He however emphasized the need for the country to diversify its agriculture to have more exports.
Mkwezalamba said relying on agriculture alone which faces unfavourable weather conditions is not good enough hence the need to look to other sectors such as mining and tourism for support.
Dr Mkwezalamba has also emphasised macroeconomic stability as paramount to ensuring that the private sector thrives.
He has also cautioned the private sector in Malawi to generate forex for the country rather than always wait for the Reserve Bank or Government of Malawi – IMF Programme.
“Private sector is key in generating forex, we don’t want a situation where the private sector is waiting for the government or the Reserve Bank to generate foreign exchange no ! ” said Mkwezalamba.
He also spoke on the need to tame the debt which is way too high.
On corruption, he hailed the fight against the vice and spoke on the need to do more.
Dr Mkwezalamba also highlighted the need for more investment into infrastructure such as roads and energy which he said are crucial for economic growth.