Joyce Banda pledges to introduce smart villages: PP phase 2

Former president and People’s Party (PP) leader Joyce Banda has said  once elected into power after the May 21 Tripartite Elections she will get Malawi rolling on her ‘Phase 2’ programme  with an economic model like no other.

Banda said this on Tuesday in Chikwawa when she addressed a mass rally, the second  since an electoral alliance with UTM Party and other parties failed.

In her address, Banda said she was grateful that PP membership is intact and that  more members a re joinibg from other parries, welcoming  Mai Nandolo, who until recently  was UTM regional women’s director fir the South.

Nandolo, who was instrumental in establishing the Friends of Joyce Banda  movement in 2010, re-joined PP together with scores of members.

PP president said her administration will implement phase two  with an economic plan that will change lives of Malawians.

“We are going to emphasise on food security, economic recovery and growth, jobs, environment, energy, health, education and particularly social protection,” said Banda.

Banda pledged to introduce universal Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp), saying this year’s Fisp did not benefit poor Malawians.

She said: “We have reports from almost all districts that the number of this year’s Fisp beneficiaries has gone down compared to the previous years.  In some villages, only six or 10 people benefited. I want to assure Malawians that I will introduce universal farm input subsidy if elected in the May 21 elections.”

Banda also pledged to introduce smart villages to provide decent housing, free secondary education, free solar energy to rural communities.

Earlier, Banda’s runningmate, former Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) chief executive officer Jerry Jana, said with PP Phase two, Malawi will move from poverty to prosperity.