When I heard that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was once again in Malawi and had met President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, my immediate reaction was one of concern: Here comes Tony Blair again.
This is not Blair’s first engagement with Malawi. Through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he worked with former President Joyce Banda and later with President Lazarus Chakwera. Now, under President Mutharika’s administration, he has returned once again.
When Blair first came to Malawi during the Joyce Banda administration, the country was already grappling with serious governance and economic challenges. Despite international support, the administration was engulfed by the Cashgate scandal and eventually lost power in the elections.
Blair later returned during Chakwera’s pres idenc y, providing support in areas such as governance reforms and improving public service delivery. Yet Malawi continued to struggle with high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, fuel scarcity, unemployment and widespread public frustration. Chakwera also lost the elections.
My point is simple: Blair’s advisory role has stretched across two different administrations, yet many of Malawi’s structural challenges remain unresolved. This raises a fundamental question: are foreign advisers really the solution to the problems facing our country?
I struggle to believe that Malawi’s future depends on importing more advice. We have reached a point where we must develop greater confidence in our own ability to identify and implement solutions to our challenges.
Malawi’s greatest need is not more foreign consultants, but stronger institutions, visionary leadership and confidence in our own capacity. Our future will be shaped by our ideas, our people and our ability to build systems that serve citizens effectively.
Across Africa, there is no shortage of talent. The continent has brilliant scientists, economists, policy experts, entrepreneurs, researchers and development specialists. What we need is to trust our own capabilities and create environments where African solutions can flourish.
This does not mean rejecting international partnerships. Rather, such partnerships should complement and strengthen home-grown initiatives instead of replacing them.
Another issue that troubles me is that Blair served as British Prime Minister for 10 years. If his interest was to help transform countries such as Malawi, that period arguably provided the greatest opportunity to use his political influence to promote stronger trade, investment and development partnerships between Britain and Africa.
Today, however, Malawi’s most urgent need is not another adviser. We need investors, industrialists and entrepreneurs who can drive economic transformation— people who can establish factories, create jobs, develop the mining sector, add value to agricultural products, strengthen local industries and expand markets for Malawian businesses.
This is why I believe figures such as Aliko Dangote are more relevant to Africa’s current development needs.
Dangote has demonstrated that Africans can build globally competitive businesses from within the continent. Through investments in manufacturing, cement, fertiliser, oil refining and infrastructure, he has created jobs and contributed to economic growth in several African countries. Reports that he is exploring investment opportunities in East Africa should encourage countries such as Malawi to rethink the type of partnerships they pursue.
Malawi must move away from the belief that solutions to our challenges must always come from outside Africa. That mindset has not delivered the transformation we desire.
Africa possesses immense human talent, natural resources and entrepreneurial potential. We must increasingly look inward while engaging the global community as equal partners.
Therefore, as Tony Blair begins another chapter of engagement with Ma lawi , I rema i n unconvinced that this is the intervention our country needs most at this critical moment.
Perhaps it is time to pursue a different path—one that prioritises home-grown solutions and attracts investments capable of transforming the economy.
Instead of repeatedly relying on advisers whose interventions have not produced the desired outcomes, Malawi should focus on attracting investors such as Dangote, who understand African realities and have demonstrated a commitment to building businesses on the continent.
Our future cannot be secured by recycling old prescriptions. It will be secured through visionary leadership, practical investments, strong institutions and the confidence that Africans have the ability to solve many of their own problems.
Malawi does not need to choose between engaging the world and believing in itself. The country needs partnerships that empower its people, create opportunities and accelerate transformation.
At this stage in our development journey, perhaps what we need most is not another adviser, but more builders, investors and entrepreneurs who can help turn our potential into reality
