Malawi has committed to create a sovereign wealth fund to improve management of proceeds from mining, a sector identified as a catalyst towards achieving the national development vision espoused in Malawi 2063 (MW2063).
Sovereign wealth funds are State-owned investment funds that manage a country’s surplus revenue to generate economic benefits for its citizens.
To build capacity and engagement, Malawi Government organised a two-day workshop in Lilongwe this week under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to provide a shared understanding of the country’s mining sector and provide insights into suitable mineral revenue management approaches, including establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet Janet Banda expressed government’s commitment to establishing the fund.
“This workshop is timely since as a country we have a skills gap in technical competences and knowledge regarding mining revenue management and sovereign wealth fund,” said the head of the Presidential Delivery Unit.
A statement issued at the end of the workshop indicated that the government’s commitment to establish the fund is part of its OGP National Action Plan (2023–25).
“Before embarking on this journey, the OGP Taskforce thought it wise to first conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of such a SWF,” reads the statement.
Despite divergent views, participants, who included senior government officials, civil society organisations’ leaders, private sector and the academia, stressed that the fund must be insulated from political interference, governed by clear rules and aligned with national development priorities.
MW2063 has identified mining as the fastest route to achieve targets in the strategy’s Firt 10-Year Implementation Plan.
Malawi is positioning itself for a minerals-driven economic transformation, with several potential mining projects anticipated to begin production in the coming years with government revenue projected to reach between $200 million (about K350 billion) and $600 million (about K1.05 trillion) by 2034.
The workshop was convened under the UK-funded Malawi Value Chains Project, implemented by Adam Smith International, in partnership with the Office of the President and Cabinet in particular the OGP Technical Working Group on Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, and the Ministry of Mining.
