Stalled bills worry donors
Development partners have expressed concerned over stalled bills that would have helped government create a conducive business environment in the country.
They raised the concern on Thursday during the meeting they had with Minister of Trade and Industry Sosten Gwengwe in Lilongwe.
The development partners were referring to bills like the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Bill which was drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in 2018 and is yet to be finalised and the Financial Services (Amendment) Bill submitted in 2016.
Others are Insurance Bill that government has been working on since 2019 and Microfinance Bill whose work started in 2021.
And, the Credit Reference Bureau Regulation is yet to be gazetted after its submission in 2019.
Chairperson for the development partners Hugh Riddell, who is also World Bank Malawi country director, stressed the importance of the Bills to incentivise and instill confidence in the private sector to invest in Malawi.
He said: “Creating an enabling business environment is a paramount precondition to attract more private investments to Malawi for accelerated and inclusive economic development.”
The development partners also stressed the need to empower the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre to be more proactive in dealing with trade and business processes.
They said they Malawi to implement an automated trade facilitation model.
In response, Gwengwe shared his vision of fostering a vibrant private sector, essential for Malawi’s economic development, positive balance of payments and job creation.
Prioritising local manufacturing, revenue generation and job creation, the minister emphasised the need for the right regulatory framework to support these initiatives
“All this underscores the need to have the right regulatory framework in place,” said Gwengwe.
During the discussions, development partners reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the ministry in various priority areas, including addressing tax regime inconsistencies, capacity development, resident legal officers and implementing strategic plans.
Both sides underscored the importance of collaboration, avoiding delays, and enacting legislation that facilitates, rather than controls, trade to drive economic transformation.
“In addition, the minister and donors agreed on the need to have legislation that facilitates rather than controls trade to drive an economic transformation agenda,” further reads the statement.
