Government’s wrong investment priorities
As everyone in Malawi might be aware, due to abject poverty, coupled with severe food shortages, people now just talk about how their lives have been run down by President Peter Mutharika’s government. More importantly, they look at how they can get out of this poverty and even more so getting out of the hunger situation. It is no exaggeration to say that people are dying of hunger and the solution is not wasting time refuting that no one has died from lack of food. Above everything else, it must be understood that people are suffering due to a bad economy. Therefore in a bid to find solutions to the various problems in the country, the DPP-led government must set its priorities right. People can wait no more. They want the government to deliver as at yesterday.
Meanwhile, the talk now in government circles is about intensifying mining investment, which they think can boost the economy, since the global anti-smoking campaign is killing the tobacco industry. At the moment, government seems all set to sign some deals with mining investors. One can only hope that this time the government will look at the formalities first before signing on the dotted lines. Failing which, Malawians will once again be taken for a ride by benefitting nothing from mining as has been the case in the past. Imagine the euphoria that Kayelekera mine in Karonga created. Some 10 years or so down the line, there is nothing much to show for it. In fact, it is unbelievable that Malawi has been mining uranium which is one of the expensive minerals. Coal, too, has been mined in Rumphi for ages without any tangible benefits even to the people around the mine. Instead, the environment has been destroyed with lots of trees cut down without replacement. Another type of investment which seem to have no head or tail are the stadiums which are being built in Rumphi, Karonga, Mangochi and probably other areas as well. Honestly speaking, can a stadium be a priority in this country at the moment? It is an obvious fact that district councils have perpetually been complaining about scarce financial resources. In this case then how can they maintain stadiums? After all, they even fail to maintain football grounds, most of which are dusty since there are no funds to even plant grass on them.
The third wrong investment priority is the Shire–Zambezi Waterway. This is a long-term project whose benefits are unpredictable. Already, there is a setback as Mozambique is reportedly not willing to join since its priorities are on road and rail transport to the ocean. The most obvious outcome of the waterway is that Malawi Government will spend a lot of money on it and in the end no one will be interested to use it. Then it will end up as a white elephant. Malawi is too poor to be wasting resources creating white elephants!
The above stated doubtful government priorities are among many more that have been implemented with poor results such as the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
By now, President Peter Mutharika and his government should have known about the mammoth task before them of turning around the economy to start registering meaningful growth and not the myth that Malawi is second to Qatar. Therefore, it is important that right investment priorities be implemented. The much-talked about government reforms, too, must reflect national priorities. If not, the reforms will just be a mere song sang by leaders in power. n
