Former president Joyce Banda has unveiled a “grassroots-centred” recovery plan, saying her decades of work with women and the youth provide the foundation for a fresh push on economic recovery and social protection.
Speaking after meeting scores of small-scale women traders in Lilongwe yesterday, the sole female presidential candidate in the September 16 General Election said her candidacy represents more than promises, outlining what she described as “a manifesto within a manifesto” containing quick-fix programmes to ease household suffering and restore public confidence.
Banda said at the core of her plan is a “Cash for Work” scheme, modelled on a programme she implemented when she ascended to the presidency in line with constitutional order in April 2012 following the death of president Bingu wa Mutharika before losing in the May 2014 election to Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party.
Under the initiative, she said ordinary Malawians would be paid to participate in public works such as road maintenance, with the aim of injecting cash into struggling households and improving food access.
“When people can buy food, inflation will ease because the pressure comes from lack of basic necessities,” said the People’s Party presidential candidate, linking the measure to Malawi’s current 29.3 percent inflation rate.
Beyond short-term relief, Banda pledged structural interventions aimed at job creation and protection of vulnerable groups. These include construction of one million rural houses, which she said would create thousands of jobs while improving living conditions.
She also promised continuous maize distribution to buffer shortages, free education to ease household burdens, and mobile clinics to address what she called “the collapse of the health system.”
In addition, Banda pledged measures to stabilise fuel supply and strengthen foreign exchange reserves.
While the initiatives resonate with the daily struggles of households, critics have questioned their feasibility.
While her proposals resonate with the daily struggles of ordinary households, the feasibility of building one million houses, sustaining free education, and guaranteeing maize supplies would demand substantial public resources at a time when Malawi’s budget is already heavily aid-dependent and running on narrow fiscal space.
Banda countered by citing her track record as both an entrepreneur and political leader, stressing that the ideas build on tried-and-tested systems.
“With strong support institutions such as the Small Enterprise Development Organisation of Malawi (Sedom) and the Development of Malawian Traders Trust (Dematt), which provided training and credit in those days, our women’s fortunes transformed. We are not reinventing the wheel. We just need to bring back systems that worked,” she said.
During the rally, Lecia Kajole, a vendor from Area 23, appealed for Banda’s intervention to end what she described as “biting injustice, unfairness and exploitation” women face in accessing loans, jobs, and services.
She rallied her peers from Ntandire, Mtsiriza, Kauma, Baghdad and other populous townships in Lilongwe to vote for Banda, saying their welfare would improve under her leadership.
