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Government tips private sector on policy implementation

 

inistry of Industry and Trade has said the private sector should ensure implementation of policies developed by government and at the same time be accountable for their failure.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Wiskes Nkombezi, said this in response to Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Inudstry (MCCCI) concerns over lack of effective law-making process and institutions which affects the ease of doing business.

Nkombezi: There is a tendency to  blame government
Nkombezi: There is a tendency to
blame government

In its 2015 Business Climate Survey Report, MCCCI said delays in fast-tracking reviews and enactment of laws critical to the performance of the private sector such as the Seed Act and the Control of Goods Act raises a number of questions.

The private sector lobby group said between 2012 and 2015, the process to enact these pieces of legislations has not been finalised for various reasons.

Reads the report in part: “The National Export Strategy [NES], which seeks to improve the country’s ability to produce and export rightly points out some of the reforms that need fast-tracking to achieve this end.

“Some of these reforms include review of the Seed Act, the Control of Goods Act and assenting to the Land Bill, among others. However, between 2012 and 2015, the process for most of these has not been finalised which raises doubts on the effectiveness of some institutions.”

In response, Nkombezi said government’s main task, as the facilitating agent, is to ensure that it creates favourable policies for the growth of businesses in the country.

“There is this tendency of always blaming government when policies fail or there are some mishaps somewhere. But we are supposed to do the work with the private sector with government spearheading the facilitation process.

“If the private sector is saying that there is lack of effectiveness somewhere, let them come out and point out what sets them back,” he said.

Nkombezi said last year, the ministry developed a Draft National Industry Policy to provide a coordinated and centralised policy framework for policy making to encourage industrialisation.

Earlier, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development spokesperson Hamilton Chimala said government is reviewing all policies in the agriculture sector with the national review expected to take place this year. n

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