Minister of Finance Sosten Gwengwe has implored economists in the country to put the interests of the nation first if a quick turnaround of the country is to be realised.

Gwengwe was speaking in Mangochi during the official opening of the 2022 Economics Association of Malawi Annual Conference.

He said ECAMA is an important institution whose rational input in government activities can propel the country to attain its development blueprint.

“I would like to see from this year’s conference that economists are demanding policies which we think can turn around our country and to ensure that those policies are being implemented without excuse.

“We have reached a point where as a nation we need to do only those things that are right. We have crafted various beautiful documents but haven’t acted on the same with due diligence. As we move towards a self-sustaining nation, we need to be disciplined, change our mindset and work extra hard with our country at the top of the set priorities,” said Gwengwe.

Speaking earlier ECAMA’s President, Lauryn Nyasulu, said the economists need to revisit their contributions to the country citing several gaps in the implementation of policies which has translated into gradual growth not tallying to attain a middle-income economy come 2063.

“As key speakers have already alluded to let me highlight that as a nation we are not implementing to the letter the set economic strategies and that is having a bearing on our development. This is a huge concern to us as economists because we believe that as a country we need to grow and above all the welfare of people in the country needs to improve, hence the essence of this conference,” said Nyasulu.

This year ECAMA’s conference is being held under the theme: ‘Addressing the policy implementation challenges to accelerate the achievement of the Malawi 2063.’

Reported by McDonald Chiwayula, MBC Online Services.

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