Comesa tips Malawi on boosting trade, tourism

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Competition Commission (CCC) has said Malawi should export processed farm produce and improve on her tourism industry to effectively compete in the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) which becomes operational in 2017.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of a Second Regional Sensitization Workshop in Livingstone, Zambia, executive director of the commission George Lipimile said farm produce in Malawi, which is currently sold by the road sides, can be supplied to companies that can process and export them as finished products.

Lipimile said the companies would, therefore, mop out all the produce including tomatoes, potatoes and beans wasted on the road side.

“When you are driving from Blantyre to Lilongwe, you see a lot of wastage in farm produce, we do not want the farmers to sell the produce themselves, no, but the companies would do that,” he said.

Lipimile said to scale up competition; Malawi also has to offer services in tourism as the country has abundant natural resources.

He said the larger part of Malawi still represents what Africa is, therefore, the country should take advantage of this to build on its tourism industry.

“What used to be a disadvantage or undeveloped structures today are more attractive to tourists; they do not want to come to Malawi and stay at a five-star hotel, but would like to see Africa, wild animals not animals in a zoo,” Lipimile added.

He said the tourism industry should be opened up for investment by making it attractive to investors and redesigning the incentives offered in the industry.