The Maravi Post

BLANTYRE--Malawi’s major donor, the European Union (EU), has asked the Malawian government not to leave the people behind as the southern African country gears up to shore up its battered economy.

The remark came as Malawi’s vice president Khumbo Kachali unveiled blue prints for the Economic Recovery Plan and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II (MGDS II) in Lilongwe Friday. 

EU says if the people are incorporated, the general public’s feeling that the government has failed to recover the economy will decline.

Malawians, reeling from the effects on the devaluation of the currency by 49 percent, say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

“It is clearly important to sustain the reform path and take the people along. People need to buy into the reforms and see that they will bear fruits; people need to feel that there is fairness in the burden,” EU’s Head of Delegation to Malawi, Alexander Baum was quoted by the Daily Times as saying.

He observed that proper monetary policies alone aren’t enough, hence the apparent assistance from some donors to buffer the effects of devaluation.

Baum also noted that the whole money needed can not only be mobilized by the donor community.

However, Malawi government developed the economy recovery plan to address the challenges such as lack of foreign exchange, fuel supplies, power disruptions, lack of raw materials for manufacturing and diminishing tobacco revenues.

The plan explains reforms that will be carried out to improve the Malawi’s prospects for socio-economic growth, besides other areas the country will focus on for quick economic gains.

“The recovery plan embraces a set of immediate (within 3 months), short (1 year), and medium (2-5 years) policy reforms aimed at restoring external and internal economic stability.

“It further outlines measures to cushion the vulnerable from the impact of any reforms particularly the exchange rate policy,” says the statement from the Ministry Economic Planning and Development.
 
Whereas MGDS II, covering the period from 2011 to 2016, is a decisive and strategic single reference document to be followed by all stakeholders to achieve the goal of wealth creation through sustainable economic growth and infrastructure development.
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© The Maravi Post 2012. Reproduction without acknowledgement prohibited.

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