Shanil backs Malawi Planning Commission

Former First Lady and Balaka West MP Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri  says she is in support of establishing a National Planning Commission as announced by Malawi Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe “in order to ensure effective economic planning” for the country.

Gondwe disclosed this when he delivered his 2015/15 national budget statement in Parliament on Friday afternoon in the capital Lilongwe.

Contributing on the budget statement, Dzimbiri said the allocation of funds towards the establishment of the commission is “very commendable.”

She said the development should be seen from the Malawi general public desire and discourse as they reflected upon the developmental challenges that have dogged Malawi since independence such as politicising of development, marginalisation of opposition-dominated communities from development processes, inconsistent vision of development, removal of development interventions just for mere political discrediting of predecessors and failure to have nationally agreed development priorities that cut across different but successive government administrations.

Dzimbiri said “there should be proper legislation on to ensure the independence, effectiveness and smooth operations of this independent planning commission.”

The Finance Minister told the House that the new body will act as an independent think-tank for matters of national development.

He said the National Planning Commission will be established by an Act of Parliament.

“The Commission will be led by highly qualified professionals with strong background on development-related fields and the capacity to coordinate sectoral activities,” said Gondwe.

“Inevitably some of its work will be performed by consultants or outsources to other relevant international policy research institutions,” he pointed out.

Gondwe said government has already developed the Commission’s organisational structure and is now consulting various stakeholders further.

The country’s purse keeper said the Peter Mutharika administration is committed to ensure that the Planning Commission “becomes independent of the government, yet effective in influencing the direction of the national agenda.”