Mutharika dodges MCCCI query
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) on Thursday took advantage of the 11th National Agriculture Fair opening in Blantyre to tell President Peter Mutharika that his government continues to squeeze the private sector through non-payment of bills.
MCCCI president Newton Kambala wondered whether Mutharika’s numerous calls on the private sector to help grow the economy are genuine.
“In all your speeches, you rightly highlight the importance of private sector in growing the economy because it is the sector that generates economic value. We are aware that government owes the private sector over K173 billion in arrears for genuinely supplying goods and services.
“Your Excellency, you may be calling upon us to invest more in this country, but if your government is holding on to these resources, where are the investment resources going to come from? We do expect government to observe the rule of law and abide by terms of sale which require that payment be made on the days that are agreed,” said Kambala.
The MCCCI president, who would not have spoken had Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Dr Allan Chiyembekeza not given him platform, even though the programme showed he would speak, appealed to government to put money in this year’s national budget to settle the arrears in full, saying failure to do so would stifle the private sector even further.
When opening the fair, President Mutharika ignored Kambala’s plea and focused on the importance of agriculture to the country. The President said agriculture accounts for 30 percent of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP), 90 percent of export earnings and employs 80 percent of the total workforce.
“For a long time, Malawi has been producing and exporting raw materials with very little focus on value addition. Value addition is a major step towards commercialising the agriculture sector and that is the only way this country can be transformed from an importing and consuming nation to a producing and exporting one as enshrined in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II,” said Mutharika.
Five ministers accompanied the President to the function, namely Dr Chiyembekeza, Henry Mussa (Labour), Grace Chiumia (Youth, Sports Development and Culture), Joseph Mwanamveka (Trade and Industry) and George Chaponda (Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation).
Vice-President Saulos Chilima was not present although he was on the programme.
