National Youth Council of Malawi has asked the Mnistry of Finance and Economic Affairs to institute financial reforms that prioritise youth-focused initiatives in key economic sectors.
The council’s executive director Rex Chapota expressed the sentiments in Lilongwe last week during pre-budget consultations for the youth jointly organised by the council and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs that brought together youth representatives, civil society organisations and government officials.
During the discussions, youth representatives called for reforms in the agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing , collectively referred to as ATM² strategy.
Their proposals included tax incentives for youth entrepreneurs operating in these industries and improved access to finance.
Chapota emphasised the importance of allocating resources to youth-centred activities, highlighting their potential to drive economic growth.
“The budget should be predominantly youth-centric because young people constitute the majority of our population. Governments that have adopted youth-focused budgets have prospered,” he said.
In response, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola-Banda said government has already implemented strategies to equip young people with financial resources and knowledge to succeed in key economic sectors.
He said: “Through the National Economic Empowerment Fund, we have been providing soft loans to help young farmers access inputs
“We are now investing in digitalisation to expand technological innovation in local tech start-ups.”
The government, through the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra), is implementing the Muuni Fund, an initiative aimed at providing financial assistance to information and communications research and innovation projects.
Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka, in an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, noted that economic progress and improvements in youth welfare remain unattainable unless structural issues such as corruption and inefficiencies in government institutions are addressed.
He said: “There will be no progress if we do not address corruption. Studies indicate that 30 to 40 percent of the national budget is lost to corruption. This represents a lost investment that could drive meaningful change.”
Kajoloweka called for increased private sector involvement in parastatals such as the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) to improve efficiency and boost their contribution to the national budget.
“We propose that the private sector holds approximately 49 percent of Admarc’s stake. Increased private sector involvement would enhance efficiency in the parastatal’s commercial operations,” he said.
The World Bank’s 20th edition of the Malawi Economic Monitor highlights contingent liabilities as a major risk to fiscal sustainability.
The report attributes this to State-owned enterprise (SoE) bailouts and weak commitment controls, which have contributed to rising public debt.
Reads the report in part: “These contingent liabilities continue to pose a significant risk to fiscal sustainability. Recent transactions to settle the debts of SoEs have increased Malawi’s debt stock and are a key driver of the gap between actual and projected debt levels.”
The assessment aligns with concerns raised in the 2024 Malawi Government Annual Economic Report, which found that the financial performance of SoEs for the period ending March 31 2023 revealed significant fiscal risks, potentially necessitating government intervention.
