‘Engineers are key to economic development’
Engineers are valuable to the successful implementation of government policies and including the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), Malawi Growth, Development Strategy and National Export Strategy (NES), a renowned expert, Thom Mpinganjira, has said.
Speaking at the 10th Annual Engineering Conference organised by the Malawi Institution of Engineers (MIE) which took place at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi on Thursday, Mpinganjira, who was guest of honour at the conference, argued that the country cannot talk of economic recovery without the input of engineers.
Mpinganjira, who is FDH Financial Holdings Limited group chief executive officer, argued that reliable infrastructure plays a crucial role to the smooth running of economic activities in the country.
Said Mpinganjira: “Engineers are a catalyst for a vibrant export oriented economy.
“Malawi as a nation continues to face numerous challenges be it economic, social or environmental,which are opportunities that require engineering expertise.
“Engineers should realise that businesses, economies and nations are built on the basis of infrastructure, systems, and supplies which are products of engineering, without which the global economies would not function. I would like therefore to challenge you engineers gathered at this august occasion to be mindful of the responsibility you are shouldering to keep our country Malawi on the move.”
He also noted that for the past three weeks, Mangochi has been home to several conferences for internal auditors, economists, marketers, surveyors, architects, and accountants and noted that the gatherings are very important for continued professional development of members and to strengthen the professions.
The conference whose theme was, ‘An Engineer: A valuable resource for development,’ ran from September 25 to 28, lined up interesting topics covering entrepreneurship, capital markets, regulatory environment, motivation, wellness health and project management.
The conference, which included engineers from across all spheres of the profession, also dissected engineering problems which were resolved by a panel of specialised engineers.
It is time we developed Malawi past agriculture to secondary manufacturing, tertiary and onto quaternary knowledge economy. I am not in Malawi so I cannot outline these in details. I completely agree with Thom that Engineers must spearhead our development in applying scientific principles to manufacture machinery that improve productivity for every sector of our country from police buttons, money, pens, paper, computers, rail, buses, cars, aircraft all made in Malawi. When we say we need mechanised agriculture we mean tractors made in Malawi. When we say luxurious lake Malawi ships and boats we mean made in Malawi. Fertilisers and chemicals made in Malawi. Importing for consumption will only continue to ruin this country. Many people do not realise the closeness between Engineering and Accountancy in development, these go hand in hand. Engineers transact in physical quantities and it is the Management and Cost Accounting field that must convert it all into financial data (costs, pricing and asset tracking). Every new engineering venture must have at its core engineers and accountants to move it forward. Other professions will supplement that. We also require classic macroeconomists, mathematicians, and scientists.
Unfortunately, the developing world has been flooded with ‘Developing Economists’ from IMF/World Bank whose job in my opinion is not to advocate the right course of action for Malawi – industrialisation – but away from it. We need every Malawian economists to advocate industrialisation for our country. The World Bank, IMF and other advisors have advocated agriculture and extractive industries. They advocate that Malawi needs institutions, democracy, rule of law, good governance. These are great and I support them but these are for social progress and not economic growth! Malawi has made significant progress on the social scale but it is not on Economic growth ladder! I am talking economic fundamentals that must be in place to transform the economy into secondary, tertiary levels and beyond.
So what can we do? Develop a national industrial and economic development plan. In it we must identify goals, constraints, programmes and activities year by year. Identify key industries to move this country forward, key macro economic indicators, law and order issues, and Financing. This will lead us to skills matrix to help set priorities for universities, colleges and schools. Let us start our development at the right source to maximise our chances of success. Make no mistake the critical asset during this phase will be foreign currency to finance new equipment. Therefore, we must develop a critical sequence of investment. It is important that we start at the right point for industrial revolution to be occasioned in Malawi. If you miss the starting point, it will never happen. For example, someone was surmising that polymer is the starting point and hence we need chemical engineering. I warn against guessing. Let me explain why polymer is not the starting point. Polymer is simply plastics and is further broken down into i) thermoplastics, ii) thermosets and iii) elastomers. Elastomer is a fancy word for rubber that is currently grown on trees in Limphasa, Nkhata Bay. Whereas I agree we need a strong plastic manufacturing industry, I just want to clarify Polymer is not the “holy grail” starting point we require that will open Malawi flood gates for rapid economic growth. We have to get it right to achieve the Malawi dream and untold wealth creation for our people right across the country within 10-20 years.
That is what Malawi has missed, that is what politicians have missed. Economic growth is long over due. I completely and absolutely agree with Thom, this is the gathering that will spearhead our national industrial revolution. Key Politicians, Key government officials, national presidents must come here to set the national agenda. The absence of such key people is a great concern. I hope next year politicians (whoever will be in power- and good luck to all) will recognise the significance of the role of engineering as a catalyst for economic boom and to create a value adding chain backbone of the Malawi economy.