Dausi says DPP will not enact law on how many children one person can have

Malawi Government has ruled out the possibility of enacting laws that would limit the number of children born per family amid concerns of the country’s population explosion.

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi said this on Wednesday in Nsanje when he met District Executive Committee (DEC) members a briefing on the new Communications Act, Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security and Access to Information laws.

Dausi said while government is equally concerned with the country’s rapid population, it has no plans to introduce mandatory measures like limiting the number of children per family.

The minister said the only way to address the situation is to engage the citizens so that they understand the negative effects of rapid population growth.

“The government, media, faith groups and other organizations must relay the information that our population is growing at an alarming rate and that if we want to develop, we need to address this challenge,” he said

Dausi added that the increase in population does not tally with the resources available.

“In 1964, the country had a population of 3 million people but now we are over 17 million in a space of 53 years.

“The land and other resources are not increasing. As a result, people are scrambling for the same resources which were used by a small population 50 years ago,” he said.