The Buy Malawi Strategy, a government programme designed to promote consumption of locally produced goods and services, is expected to be reviewed eight years after its launch in 2016, it has emerged.
Trade experts have hailed the move, saying it will help to align the strategy to the current priorities.
The United Nations Development Programme , which has been supporting the strategy since inception, said in a statement that it is looking for consultancy services to carry out a review of the entire strategy.
In an interview yesterday, Ministry of Trade and Industry spokesperson Patrick Botha confirmed the review of the strategy, saying consultations will be made with all stakeholders to determine the contents of the second strategy.
He said: “It will include consultations with the people and businesses to input their views based on their knowledge and experiences.
“The outcomes of which will determine the content and goal of the second strategy.”
National Working Group on Trade Policy chairperson Fredrick Changaya said in an interview yesterday that the first strategy was formulated before major changes in strategic focus such as the Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy, and the agriculture, tourism and mining (ATM) strategy.
He said the Ministry of Trade and Industry has been proactive to provide policy direction, but added that implementation is affected by lack of coordination of government policies.
Changaya, who is also Applecore Grain and Milling Limited managing director, said: “For the Ministry of Trade, Reserve Bank of Malawi and other stakeholders, we ask for enabling policies, good timing for policy changes and policy coordination.
“It is possible for the Buy Malawi Strategy to work. I am sure it has had a positive impact, so far, only that it needs to be enhanced.”
The review of the strategy comes after the Chamber for Small and Medium Businesses Association executive secretary James Chiutsi said although the strategy is important to local producers, its impact on the domestic market is yet to manifest.
“Small and medium enterprises products fail to compete with other foreign products because government does not enhance small businesses’ capacity to produce quality products using long-awaited factory shells,” he said.
The Buy Malawi Strategy was introduced in March 2016 to enhance competitiveness of local firms, stimulate local production, promote industrialisation and boost import substitution.
In the short to medium-term, the strategy was envisioned to reduce the import bill and assist in narrowing Malawi’s trade deficit to save foreign currency by directing it towards the procurement of more productive inputs such as equipment and machinery and vital raw materials. On average, Malawi imports goods worth $3 billion (about K5.2 trillion) in a year against exports worth $1 billion (about K1.7 trillion), according to the National Statistical Office.
