President Peter Mutharika on Tuesday hailed the European Union (EU) for financing the Bwanje Valley Irrigation Dam project in Dedza District, saying it is a game-changer for the surrounding communities and the country at large.
The President said the project is in line with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s agenda as it will enhance food production, security and economic growth.
The dam is located in Mua-Livulezi Forest Reserve in Dedza East and is part of EU support for the implementation of Malawi’s Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) and the Green Belt Initiative.
Mutharika said his government’s vision is to eradicate hunger and poverty among Malawians; hence, the project is in tandem with the National Agriculture Policy and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS III), among others.
He said: “The project is of great importance to the country, especially communities in Bwanje Valley, as it will help to eradicate hunger and improve economic well-being of the livelihoods. Let me thank the EU for the support towards the implementation of this project that we are launching today.
“The irrigation scheme will create jobs as farmers will be able to produce all year round. Let me warn the people around the dam to desist from wanton cutting down of trees in order to protect the dam from environmental impact”.
EU charge d’affaires Virginie Lafleur-Tighe said the EU-ASWAp programme is supporting rural economic development through a 69 million euro contribution.
The EU ASWAp support includes the rehabilitation of 1 200 kilometres of rural roads connecting farmers to markets, implemented with the World Bank, and the establishment of the Irrigation Fund and the development of seven medium and large-scale irrigation schemes.
She said: “The construction of the Bwanje Valley Dam, the largest irrigation dam in Malawi, has been at a cost of over 11 million euros. The EU is a partner for growth in Malawi. Our support in constructing the Bwanje Dam reflects our strong commitment to support rural farming families.
“Our investments in irrigation demonstrate our commitment to help Malawi adjust to climate change.”
The Bwanje Valley Dam project covers 800 hectares (ha) and will benefit 1 778 households. On the other hand, the dam has an economic lifespan of 50 years while the irrigation scheme has a 30-year lifespan.
Currently the scheme produces about 4 000 metric tonnes of rice and is expected to double the production due to the irrigation dam that will facilitate winter cropping.
In random interviews, some farmers expressed excitement with the dam project, saying it will improve their productivity and economic well-being at household level.
One of the farmers at the scheme, Maxwell Mwalabu, said he was excited with the dam project as he will be able to have multiple harvests in a year.
He said he will be able to produce rice, maize, beans and vegetables which will improve food and nutrition as well as monetary gains as he will be able to sell the surplus.
Apart from the Bwanje project, the EU and partners have also funded several irrigation schemes totalling nearly 1 900 ha to benefit more than 42 000 Malawian farming families.
The other irrigation schemes include the Nkhotakota Chilingali Dam (150 ha), Dedza Tchanga (155 ha), Salima Lifuwu (155 ha), Lilongwe Mtete (160 ha), Chikwawa Mwalija (100 ha) and Chikwawa Phata (330 ha).
Minister of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development Kondwani Nankhumwa said the ministry was excited to see the dam project completed to benefit farmers.
Water Users Association of Malawi president Timothy Kaupembe advised government to consider using the dam to provide potable water to the communities around the project, saying access to water remains a challenge in the area. Kaupembe also asked government to consider mounting a small-scale hydropower project to power the area with electricity.
![President Peter Mutharika has said in his New Year's message Malawi is set to make progress this year after his government erected economic building blocks over the past five years.
"In the past five years, we have collectively saved the economy from the ruins of 2014 to the stability and inspiring growth we are seeing,” he said. “By all international standards, Malawi has proven to be an economic performing star— a rising African star. This is what patriotic Malawians can do for their country."
The President pointed out that in the past five years, Malawi has started making progress which this country lost in 1979, adding Malawi’s economy was ahead of China and other countries in income per capita but due to state violence and oppression, people’s participation in the economy was inhibited.
Mutharika said with violence and oppression the country was creating poverty instead of ending it.
He, therefore, praised development partners and foreign governments for their support and endorsing the progress Malawi is making.
He mentioned Global Fund which has committed to supporting Malawi with $500 million and International Monetary Fund for resuming budget support for the first time since it was suspended in 2013, as some of the partners who have shown their confidence in his government.
"We also have serious investors who intend to start building a city in Mangochi, together with Mangochi Airport and a five star hotel. We are set to make progress,” he said,
However, the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry believes as much as Malawi is making progress serious challenges remain.
In its assessment of business in 2019, the chamber—which is the voice of the private sector—decried rampant corruption and persistent power cuts which it said impacted negatively on investment and business.
For instance, MCCCI said gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates in the past five years reflect lack of meaningful creation of wealth by the private sector owing to persistent insurmountable obstacles to doing business whose solutions are not forthcoming.
“While progress was made in increasing the electricity carrying capacity of the national grid, thanks to the United States Government’s grant assistance through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, there is need to generate adequate electricity for the expanded grid to carry.
“It was expected that Egenco [Electricity Generation Company] and other Independent Power Producers [IPPs] would measure up to the expectations but thus far, that has not happened. Issuance of licences to IPPs took inordinately long and therefore their start time was pegged back,” reads the 2019 Business Environment Assessment report signed by MCCCI chief executive officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira and its president Prince Kapondamgaga.
Due to this depressed scenario, MCCCI says the performance of the private sector—often referred as the engine of the economy—will likely continue to be negatively affected unless authorities appreciated the impact of these challenges on the private sector and ultimately on the economy and worked on them.
Despite the power and finance challenges, the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) agrees with Mutharika that Malawi has turned a corner.
RBM Governor Dalitso Kabambe in earlier interviews also downplayed the fears of sluggish growth, saying the economy is on track as evidenced by stable inflation and exchange rates as well as stable fuel prices.
RBM also maintains the economy will still grow by five percent in 2020.
“Our projection is data intensive. Therefore, we cannot speculate based on what is happening out there, but we use available data,” he told Business News last month.](https://www.mwnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Peter-Mutharika-75x75.jpg "I fear no one—APM 5 | The Nation Online")
