Malawi at 61% to end poverty—report
The latest Mo Ibrahim Foundation assessment of Africa’s progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) shows how dismal Malawi has performed in the last eight years where it is stuck at 61.7 percent.
Six years to the target, the report titled ‘Financing Africa: Where is the money? shows that Malawi is not making much progress.
In the report’s commentary, Mo Ibrahim Foundation founder and chairperson Mo Ibrahim said resources mostly exist, but either lack the relevant processes to be effectively allocated where needed, or, significantly when it comes to domestic resources, are either dormant or misused in most Africa countries including Malawi.
He said: “We need a complete change of paradigm. This is not about Africa coming to the developed world with a begging bowl and developed countries considering how much more they can pledge.
“This is about smarter money, not just more money. As this report outlines, the money is already there. But current processes prevent resources from being used to properly address the challenges.”
Ibrahim said African countries, that include Malawi, must stop squandering its own assets and take proper ownership and responsibility.
“In short, we must apply good governance to ensure these assets are adequately leveraged for the best interests of our people,” he urged.
On the goal of good health and well-being, Malawi is at 49.7 percent while provision of quality education stands at 52.8 percent.
The country has done relatively well on responsible consumption and production goals at 97.9 percent, climate action at 99.6 percent and gender equality at 70.1 percent.
Even on achieving the African Union Agenda 2063, which is the continent’s strategic framework for transforming Africa from 2013 to 2063, Malawi is among the worst performers, having scored just 39 percent.
The report comes after another by the African Development Bank (AfDB) said Malawi would require $3.95 billion (about K6.8 trillion) annually to move out of poverty by 2030.
Some economic and research analysts say the country needs to go beyond production and look at value-addition, especially manufacturing and industrialisation of goods for exports, to make headway towards the 2030 goal.
University of Malawi economist Farai Chigaru said Malawi also needs to seal loopholes where resources leak and ensure that any debt obtained goes towards productive sectors so that the benefits trickle down to the masses.
In an earlier interview, Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe agreed that the country must export to create wealth for its people and government was using the National Export Strategy II to increase exports.
