Joyce Banda to scrape off driving license renewal, start K10bn revolving fund

 People’s Party (PP) president Joyce Banda has made a landmark announcement that she will abolish regular and frequent motor vehicle license renewals as she will scrape off driving license expiry dates if she wins the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.

Banda, the former president who governed Malawi between 2012 to 2014,  made the announcement at a rally she held in the capital, Lilongwe on Thursday, December 27.

The former president said most motorists find it difficult to have their driver’s licenses renewed now and then.

” If I get back into power, be assured  that once you get a license, that should be fine. The process of license renewals is becoming a burden to many,” said Banda.

The  former president said she is concerned with socio-economic empowerment of the people which she claimed has not improved since she left office in 2014 and  announced she will set up a revolving fund in a bid to uplift small scale businesses.

Banda said she believes that there is a way to help the vulnerable and the underprivileged, a social responsibility a government can undertake to uplift lives of its citizens.

The former Malawi leader said provision of loans for small scale businesses, rural housing projects such as well as social cash transfer are at the centre of her heart.

“I know people are struggling, there are not employed, they lack business capital and the taxes are too much for them. To improve their economic life, my party has set aside K10 billion for a revolving loan fund to uplift lives,” said Banda, who was named in a recent survey conducted by Zomba-based Institute of Public Opinion and Research  (Ipor) between August and September this year that she is the most trusted leader.

Banda said she will introduce many programmes to uplift lives of all citizens.

She also promised to improve the energy sector with rural electricfication and bring an end to blackouts.

The PP leader said that she has all along been an advocate of rural electrification saying portable and accessible energy is the way to go in a quest to deal away with wanton cut down of trees, as a solution to environmental degradation.

On agriculture, she promised a universal fertiliser subsidy programme to enable all farmers access farm inputs.

She also said she will renovate existing universities instead of constructing new ones.

Meanwhile,  Banda is scheduled to hold another rally at Bembeke in Dedza before proceeding to Zomba on Sunday.