Mzuzu to become vibrant regional financial hub under DPP, airport plans on – President Mutharika
President Arthur Peter Mutharika says under his administration Mzuzu will grow into an economic and financial hub that can better serve the Northern Region and neighbouring countries.
He said this on Wednesday during the official opening of the Mzuzu branch of the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
“You all know that no one can build a bank where nothing economic is happening. It is because there is growing economic activity in this region that we can now have this Reserve Bank here. We have
constructed a Reserve Bank branch here because Mzuzu is a centre of economic activity in this region. This bank is our symbolic support for economic growth in this region,” he said.
He commended the Central Bank for regulating the country’s financial sector with on-point and timely policies since 1968.
“The Reserve Bank plays a critical role in our economic lives. This is the institution that regulates our financial lives because they regulate the financial sector. Today, a bicycle transporter from Katoto, wakabaza is able to send money on his mobile phone to his mother in Karonga because of the financial policies Reserve Bank has put in place,” said Mutharika.
The President noted that besides the financial relevance of the structure, it also adds value to the city’s infrastructure landscape.
“We now agree that we can make Mzuzu a magnificent city. And we can make Malawi a better place. Imagine if Mzuzu had only ten of buildings like this! This imposing and majestic Reserve Bank has transformed the scenery of Mzuzu City.
“The City of Mzuzu deserves economic infrastructure just like Lilongwe and Blantyre. That is also why we are planning to renovate and modernise Mzuzu Airport. We all deserve development. This Reserve Bank project tells us that Malawi is moving forward. It tells us that economic development is spreading in all the regions of the country,” he said.
The President also spoke at length of the need for RBM to work together with other stakeholders in tightening the screws to improve efficiency among all industry players and curb financial crookedness such as forex externalization.
Mutharika also assured people of the north that his administration would invest in many development projects in the region including the rehabilitation of the Mzuzu Airport as the people identify a new place for the airport.
“Stop thinking poor. Malawi is very rich. We will take Malawi from a poor developing country to a rich developed country but this will take time. Malawi will be rich and self sufficient,” said the US educated politician.
President Mutharika is on a week-long tour of the Northern Region.
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