During a meeting with Chief Executive Officers for parastatals under the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Wednesday, Minister of Trade and Industry, Simplex Chithyola Banda emphasized the importance of working together with agencies and parastatals to enhance local industrialization and accelerate the turning around of the local economy. The Minister stated that his ministry and all its agencies should concentrate on leveraging inter-ministerial collaboration to realize its mandate of championing local industrialization through value addition and capacity building of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The Minister pointed out that the President emphasized the role of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) to leverage the transformation of the Malawian economy into a productive one. He further stated that agro-processing and value addition of local produce require that the ministry and all its agencies focus on driving local industries to improve exports. He urged the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (SMEDI) to exploit opportunities presented by the Buy Malawi Strategy, which encourages local buying for government officers, such as security agencies’ uniforms and the ban on other imports. Therefore, the development of SMEs, capacity building, and the enhancement of marketing should be prioritized, he added.
Chithyola Banda stressed that every officer should contribute to transforming the economy and leave behind a legacy that will have impacted the economic development of Malawi positively. He encouraged the Malawi Bureau of Standards, which has a memorandum of understanding with SMEDI and Competition and Fair Trading Commission, to tap into the strengths of other ministries, departments, and agencies.
Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) Chief Executive Officer Paul Kwengwere noted that collaboration and linkages are a major key to achieving Malawi 2063. He stated that MITC is committed to supporting the government to increase the number of interested investors, including local ones. Kwengwere added that productivity for export needs to be improved to turn around the economy.
The Minister’s call for collaboration and leveraging strengths is a step towards achieving the country’s economic development goals. By working together, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and its agencies can create an enabling environment for local businesses, enhance capacity building, and improve export earnings. This, in turn, will stimulate economic growth, create employment opportunities, and promote sustainable development in the country
Malawi, like many African countries, is seeking to reduce its reliance on imports and promote local industrialization. The country has set its sights on becoming a productive economy, driven by agro-processing and value addition of local produce. The government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has been working to champion local industrialization through value addition and capacity building of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
To achieve this goal, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Simplex Chithyola Banda, has emphasized the importance of collaboration among various agencies and parastatals under his ministry. During a meeting with Chief Executive Officers for parastatals, Banda urged the agencies and parastatals to work jointly in deploying rapid strategies that enhance local industrialization, which could help accelerate the turning around of the local economy.
One of the key strategies that Banda highlighted is leveraging inter-ministerial collaboration. This will help the agencies and parastatals realize their mandate of championing local industrialization through value addition and capacity building of SMEs. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (SMEDI), for instance, should exploit opportunities presented by the Buy Malawi Strategy that encourages local buying for government officers like security agencies’ uniforms and the ban on other imports. Therefore, SMEs development, capacity building, and enhancement of marketing should be prioritized.
The collaboration extends beyond the Ministry of Trade and Industry to include other ministries, departments, and agencies such as the Malawi Bureau of Standards, the Competition and Fair Trading Commission, and the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC). The Malawi Bureau of Standards Acting Director General, Thomas Sengani Malunje, said the bureau is ready to tap into the strengths of other ministries, departments, and agencies. The bureau has a memorandum of understanding with SMEDI and the Competition and Fair Trading Commission to ensure that standards and regulations are met in the production and trade of local goods.
The MITC Chief Executive Officer, Paul Kwengwere, emphasized the importance of collaboration and linkages in achieving Malawi's vision for 2063. The MITC is geared to supporting the government in increasing the number of interested investors, including local ones, and improving productivity for export to turn around the economy.
The success of local industrialization in Malawi depends on collaboration among various agencies, parastatals, and ministries.