Need we another tourism development strategy?

We are here in Balaka again. The last time we were here we vowed to meet and unearth Milera Nkhoma whose musical career gender activists had thwarted.  We are happy to report today that Milera is back in the music business and, hopefully, she will pick up from where she had left off and make it big in the music business. Inshallah!

This time we came and are here to give support to our spiritual friend, the Most Prophet Bushiri, who is on an evangelistic mission in this hot but friendly district, which will  soon be known as the State of Balaka, if the pending federalism referendum will swing in favour of that option.

While here, we are lodged at the Coconut Hotel located along the Mbera Highway. Coconut  Hotel is a small but quite friendly and safe place to be. There are no air conditioners here, but the ceiling and stand fans do the job very well to disperse mosquitoes and the thick heat.

Last night, as we sat down to dinner, we debated how Malawi’s tourism can be improved.  We had almost agreed that indeed lack of a national tourism strategy was the problem when Assistant Chief Apostle Innocent Mawayawaya reminded us that actually 12 years ago, in 2002, Malawi produced a tourism development masterplan, which no government after the Bakili Muluzi regime is willing to implement

“Where is it?” Deputy Chief Apostle Native Authority Mandela challenged.

Mawayawaya unzipped his computer carrier bag and fished out a huge blue document and threw it in front of us, asking “need we another tourism development strategy?”

We did not answer.