Trade ministry reinforces Buy Malawi campaign
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has stressed the need for Malawians and businesses to buy locally produced products.
The ministry’s Principal Secretary Ken Ndala said this on Tuesday in Blantrye during the launch of the leather and textile products buyer-seller meeting which attracted about 80 government agencies and companies.
The meeting was organised by Malawi Enterprise Productivity (Mepe) to showcase what small and medium enterprise and companies are producing.
It followed the recently passed Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act (PPD Act) of 2017, which encourages public procuring entities to ensure that 60 percent local indigenous businesses are prioritised in awarding of contracts.
Ndala said in an interview that he was impressed with displays during the event.
“The idea of this meeting is to see what we are able to produce so that we can reduce imports. All we need is that we should start exporting our products.
“We want to work on the quality side so that no one should have excuses,” said Ndala.
On his part, Mepe project manager Leman Jussa said people should appreciate what local firms are producing.
“This is the reason we have organised this meeting with support from European Union through Comesa Regional Integration Support Mechanism programme so that companies should appreciate what Malawians are producing,” he said.
Public Procurement and Disposal Assets Authority acting director general Timothy Kalembo said they are currently consulting on the implementation of some sections in the Act. n
