Support human capital development—Mubas
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) has asked Treasury to support human capital development through education and skills enhancement, which is pivotal to economic transformation.
In her presentation at the 2024/25 Pre-Budget Consultation Meeting in Blantyre on Monday, Mubas head of accountancy and finance Rabiya Hanif said as an enabler in the Malawi 2063 (MW2063), human capital development ought to be supported.
She said: “It is, therefore, imperative for the government to continue to generously support human capital development towards achieving its long-term development aspirations as articulated in the MW2063.
“The tertiary education component in particular is instrumental in fostering growth, reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity.”
Hanif observed that with the average Malawian facing a headline inflation rate of 33.1 percent as well as reeling from the negative impact of the 44 percent kwacha devaluation, education expenses such as operational costs, fees and staff compensation are on an increasing trend or at least exhibit the propensity of impending upward adjustments.
She also observed that in Malawi, government funding towards science and research lies somewhere between 0.5 percent to one percent of the domestic product (GDP), far below an average range of 2.23 percent to 4.9 percent of GDP for leading research economies in the European Union and Americas.
“The education sector holds a key role towards medium to long-term growth and development. Higher education requires adequate funding to realise the potential of both its academic staff and the human capital that is nurtured therein for industrial consumption,” he said.
In response, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda agreed that the economy has been grappling with a number of challenges which are bringing a lot of imbalances, threatening the implementation of the country’s long-term development agenda.
He said: “The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs will compile all the views and suggestions from this meeting for review and consideration in the process of consolidating the Budget.
“The 2024/25 Budget provides us with an opportunity to make great strides in our nation’s future.”
Despite strides made in putting in place the requisite institutional and policy frameworks for the effective and efficient implementation of the development plan, implementation of the first 10-year targets in MW2063 has been slow.
