Chimulirenji goofs in speech at US-Africa summit: Says Malawi got independence in 1994

Malawian Vice President (VP) Everton Chimulirenji made a goof in his speech which he was reading on Wednesday during the opening of the 12th US-Africa Business Summit in Maputo, Mozambique when he said Malawi has enjoyed peace since her independence in “1994” yet the country will on July 6 be commemorating 55th independence.

Chimulirenji addressed the summit while reading word by word in his prepared speech and did not made a correction when he goofed.

“Malawi is today’s choice as a location for foreign direct investment and tourism, we have put in place deliberate policies and strategies to enhance collaboration with the private sector and ensure that  their concerns are taken on board all the time,” said Chimulirenji.

He also had pronunciation problems with some words such as “tourism”.

In his speech, Chimulirenji said Malawi welcomes the Africa Free Trade Area as a tool that will boost exports and other trade opportunities in the country.

“One of the advantages that Malawi is expecting from Africa Free Trade Area is that it will help in improving the country’s productive capacity to have quality products, as it is one of the areas that need improvement,” said Chimulirenji.

He disclosed that Malawi has also devised measures to woo foreign investors through the establishment of the Malawi Investment and Trade Center (MITC) through the One Stop Service Center where investors get all the necessary investment requirements under one roof in less than five days.

Chimulirenji further said Malawi also offers investor friendly climate with competitive tax and non-tax incentives package.  He said among others, Malawi offers both general and sector specific incentives such as tax allowances for the agro-manufacturing sector.

“There are investment opportunities in the private sector as prioritized by the government of Malawi in energy, manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism, infrastructure and information communication technology (ICT),” emphasized the VP.

The Summit has brought together more than 1,000 U.S. and African private sector executives, international investors, senior government officials and multilateral stakeholders.

 

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