Mutharika launches Malawi development blueprint, says MGDS III ‘a manifesto of the nation’
President Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika on Tuesday launched the Malawi Growth Development Strategy (MGDS) III, a national development blueprint which he has described it as a manifesto of the nation, saying it represents the collective hopes and dreams of the people, the convictions and aspirations of the country.
Mutharika made the remarks at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe when he launched the the strategy which focuses on spurring growth and removing barriers to development in agriculture, water development and climate change management; education and skills development; energy, industry and tourism development; transport and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure as well as health and population.
He said the strategy is the country’s homegrown policy for developing the country and as such its implementation should be a collective responsibility of all stakeholders involved.
The MGDS 111 is the medium term strategy designed to contribute to Malawi’s long term aspirations. The strategy covers a period of five years from 2017 to 2022 and is a successor to the MGDS 11 which was implemented between 2011 and 2016.
Mutharika said it is important to make Malawi a producing and exporting nation in order to make this manifesto a reality.
“We want to become a productive nation by increasing agricultural production and sustainability with better water management and irrigation. We are moving beyond rain-fed subsistence farming to make commercial agriculture the catalyst for industrialization,” he said.
In order to make Malawi a competitive nation, president Mutharika emphasized on the need to increase energy generation as well as improve transport and ICT infrastructure.
Not only did Mutharika say the strategy is an instrument for implementing the country’s national goals in the medium term but also an instrument for implementing specific Sustainable Development Goals.
“This is a homegrown development strategy that drives our national agenda in harmony with the international community,” he said.
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Goodall Gondwe said the strategy is important in the development agenda process and as such all stakeholders should be involved in order to make it a success.
“MGDS III is built around a theme that aims to improve productivity, turn the country into a competitive nation and develop resilience to shocks and hazards,’ said Gondwe.
The strategy has been prepared at a time Malawi has been experiencing multiple shocks including floods, drought and financial crises.
It is for this reason that the theme of the MGDS III is ‘Building a Productive, Competitive and resilient Nation.’
Chief Secretary to the Government, Lloyd Muhara said the strategy has potential to reduce poverty and create wealth through improving the economy, production and productivity.
National Planning Commission Chairperson, Prof Richard Mkandawire said since the strategy has the potential to link national agenda with the international community, there is need to link Africa’s success stories with that of Malawi.
“The strategy provides a roadmap development agenda and as such Malawi has the potential to join success stories with those of the international community,” said Mkandawire.
The MGDS III which has been formulated following the expiry of MGDS II in June, 2016 will be implemented from 2017 – 2022. It draws from previous development strategies namely Vision 2020, Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy and MGDS II.
It is also a collective product of the private sector, civil society organizations, faith based groups, the national assembly, political parties and the academia.
The strategy identifies five key priorities on which a productive, competitive and resilient nation is built.
The priority areas are: Agriculture, Water development & Climate Change; Education & Skills Development; Energy, Industry & Tourism Development; Transport & ICT Infrastructure and Health & Population.
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Vision 2020 was launched some years ago and nothing tangible has been achieved. Rwanda, a country overwhelmed by civil war and genocide in the nineties learned from Malawi the same development blueprint (vision 2020) and it has achieved its goals beyond expectations – it is prosperous and will soon move to the next phase of economic progress. In Malawi, we are very good at launching development plans on paper with much fanfare, but implementation is a tall order, most of it is a result of party politics plus corruption and lack of a national development blueprint which has to be… Read more »
Your Excellency President Mutharika, I suggest that you encourage all MP’s to read and understand the contents of the just launched MGDS III, so that they can all fire in the same direction; towards achieving the all encompassing Vision 2020, in the context of the three short & medium strategies namely, Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy (MPRS), MGDS I and II. It is clear from us, the unlearned citizens, that policies being debated and passed in parliament are not aligned to the very strategies you are launching and worryingly, partially implementing. The behaviour of the executive and parliament is at odds… Read more »
oh boy!!! Not again,we have heard this many times before!!!!!!!!!!
Malawi a Great Land of Strategic Papers, Foundation stones and Force Hopes. Eeeeshi Malawi is indeed winning in this area and if you ask any one where is Malawi ranked number one, the answer is so simple, it is number one on launching of strategic papers setting up of foundation stones and giving force hopes to its citizens, while milking the the already starving Malawians hard through punitive taxation systems.
President telling the nation that this country is rich but the people are poor yet himself is very rich and ripping from the same poor people daily.wuuuuuuuuu koma yaaa!!!
What evaluations hav bn done on previous strategies? What have we achieved & where did we go wrong? Its useless keep launching strategy documents using tax payers money when practically these documents will keep gathering dust in public offices.
The extent to which we priotise politics and corruption in this country is very sickening. We have failed dismally on the previous strategies & this will not be an exception.
There must be strong political will if Malawi is to achieve her dreams.
What were the successes and failures of Vision 2020, Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy and MGDS II. Unless we are in a position to critic three strategies, Malawi’s economy isn’t gong anywhere. It will stall to its natural death within years. It is critical to understand challenges faced in the implementation of the three previous strategies and where necessary, hold those responsible such failures to account. Implementation energy needs to be invigorated to realise the benefits articulated in the newly launched MGDS III. It is for this reason that DPP should be encouraged to deploy young energy and firebrands in order… Read more »