Chilima challenges north-based private sector and SMEs to be innovative
Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima has challenged the private sector and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based in the Northern Region to be innovative by adopting unorthodox ways of doing business in order to contribute to the attainment of the public sector reforms.
Chilima made the remarks in Mzuzu on Wednesday morning after engaging players in the private sector and SMEs.
During the meeting, players in the private sector and SMEs stressed the need for the government to reduce taxes when they are importing goods and products, the need to introduce incentives for investment, interest rates spread, promotion of technology and innovation, review of employment laws, promotion of indigenous businesses, infrastructure development among others.
“On tax incentives, I have assured them that the Government of His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, is taking a proactive approach on the matter and very soon this will be addressed. I have since challenged the private sector and the SMEs to be innovative by adopting unorthodox ways of doing business,” he said.
Chilima also took advantage of the engagement to urge SMEs to take the Buy Malawi Campaign forward without waiting for big supermarkets to display their products.
He emphasized that the reforms that the government is undertaking are aimed at transforming the public sector so that it can respond effectively to the needs of the private sector.
“As we move forward and develop the next transformation agenda, I have emphasised that there will be no more knee jerk reaction when it comes to the next national development plan. The key enabler to a successful development plan is mindset change.
“We must stop celebrating failure or being content with small successes if we are to register meaningful achievements in our quest to develop Malawi. The Public Sector, Private Sector, SMEs and all Malawians are in this together,” said the Vice President.
Chilima said the core objective is to create synergy between the public sector and the private sector.
Chilima said during the meetings he had, they have agreed to work together to turn Mzuzu and the northern region into a serious business hub with massive opportunities in the hospitality industry, aviation, real estate and the mining sector.
Dear honourable VP,
thank you very much for showing up and share so much of your precious time with us! We need more interface meeting like this! I really admire your aggressiveness in the matter and it is high time for us Malawians to wake up from the slumber, also in the private sector! But surely you and your team can also learn and hear a lot from us concerning the shortfalls in our puplic sector, you try to reform! It is us who have the most hicups with them! We need more efficiency in almost all government offices and services . The delay tactics for the sake of corruption must come to an end!
Procedures in public offices need time lines. It can not be that a COF for a car takes a whole day, or a ESCOM connection more than a month!
We need a platform from your side where we can speak out about this!
But like you mentioned, all is nothing without the necessary action …!-
The only small criticism I would like to bring forward is about your PS, Wezzi Kayira. What was his functionality, sitting silently next to you on stage the whole morning?
Hope see you soon again in the North!
I am not clear on the direction our country’s economy is taking. I would of expected by now, we would be clear as to the direction we are taking. Obviously we need to enable production, say through irrigation in lower shire to create jobs and generate income. The question is what do we grow and do we have the expertise?
Enable trading centres that already have growth potential such as Luchenza, Jenda, Rumphi, Lizulu etc. Given the right catalysts these centers can spur economic growth.
But give the country economic direction PLEASE. We need to produce.
Mr klaus, since you advised everyone you meet with, can you please appoint that dowa MP kutsamba zonzi to some top position so that he can implement interest rate cap? That would benefit alot of us small enterprises and will put a stop to obscene profiteering by the banks. They are robbing us.
BOMA ILO 💪🏾🇲🇼💡💰🏡✔️🛠️📐🐘⚽🌽
Instead of hitting the ground running, the government continues to serve Malawians with yet more promises even when those they promised during their campaign exercises haven’t been implemented. Too much talk and no action will yield nothing. By the time people will be realising that not even a foundation has been done, it will be late because everyone will now once again be on the move preparing for more campaign lies.
This public reform process can easily be achieved from an office by issuing written strategic directives to all the involved parties other than visiting them. Mind you, wherever Chilima is going, he is not going there alone, he goes with an entourage who apparently need allowances. That on its own is wastage of the much needed finances. When was Chilima in Mzuzu for his political meetings only to see the dilapidation of Mzuzu Hotel to day? These are the unnecessary gimmicks we have all along been crying foul about. For how long are we going to experience the same chicanery but in a different colour and cloth, please? Malawians want progress and not lectures. Lectures were handed out during campaigns, now what we need is not theoties but pragmatism. Actually being in opposition, you are regarded as “Government In Waiting” – as such all your plans running a country were made whilst you were in waiting. Please get your acts together and begin getting organised!!!
That’s it.
Soon. We will be in paradise.