Newspaper advises Malawi govt to do soul searching on support from development partners
Malawi’s leading daily, The Nation has advised government to do some soul searching on well it is using funds from development partners to address utility challenges such as persistent power blackouts.
The call follows government’s announcement that will not hold the third Malawi Investment Forum this year.
According to Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Henry Mussa, this year’s forum has been cordoned off to pave way for an assessment and review of outstanding issues from previous forums.
In editorial comment, the paper observed that reliable water and power supply are key for making Malawi more appealing to invetors.
“During last year’s forum, Vice President Saulos Chilima, who opened the forum, even promised potential investors that utility challenges such as power and water supply were being resolved and invited them to take these challenges as potential areas for investment.
“Peace, while necessary, is not enough to attract investors. During the review, it is important that questions such as ‘what makes Malawi a more appealing destination, particularly for foreign direct investment (FDI) than other countries, including its neighbours?’ should be asked.
“It is a lot easier Malawi to attract aid that FDI. If the country uses this aid properly to rectify the challenges, then it will be on the right path towards attracting FDI,” reads the editorial comment in part.
The first Malawi Investment Forum was held in 2015 and attracted 130 investors from about 30 countries.
Following the event, Malawi was ranked fifth in Africa on the Global Peace Index and 51 globally as one of the peaceful countries in the world.
