The Development Partners supporting Trade and industry in Malawi have urged the government to fast-track the finalization and approval of some strategic legislations as well as address procedural issues that are fundamental in creating an enabling business environment. Delivering a joint statement on behalf of the 14 Development Partners at a high-level dialogue meeting with the Honourable Minister of Industry and Trade, Sosten Gwengwe, M.P, the World Bank Country Manager, Hugh Riddell underscored that creating an Enabling Business Environment is a paramount pre-condition to attract more private investments to Malawi for accelerated and inclusive economic development.   

Hugh Riddell, who is the chairperson of the Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development Partners (TIPDeP) group pointed out several long-awaited Bills to be finalized and passed which are critical to incentivize and bring confidence to the private sector to invest in Malawi. He said it is not a secret that some Bills have been on the table for over 5 years without being finalized and approved. For example, records show that the MSME Bill was drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MoJCA) in 2018, yet five years down the line, it has not yet been finalized and submitted to parliament for approval. In addition, several Financial Sector Bills and Directives have been pending and these include the Financial Services (Amendment) Bill – submitted in 2016; the Insurance Bill – being developed since 2019; the Microfinance Bill – being developed since 2021 and the Credit Reference Bureau Regulation pending to be gazetted since 2019.

Hugh Riddell of the WB, joined by USAID Mission Director, Ms Pamella Fessenden, the EU Head of Cooperation, Ivo Hoefkens and UN Resident Representative, Fenella Frost pointed out that the Public-Private Dialogue Forum (PPDF) is a strategic platform for dialogue between Government and the private sector in Malawi. However, he lamented that taking forward and tracking the agreed actions is a huge challenge resulting in making the PPDF not very efficient and productive. He urged the Ministry to come up with a good strategy that will drive PPDF to gain attraction.

The Development Partners also cited the need to empower the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) to be more proactive in dealing with the trade and business processes decisively. Among others, the Government should explore implementing an automated trade facilitation model.

The DPs also pointed out the need for the adoption of the Competition and Fair-Trading Bill. A swift adoption of the Bill at the upcoming February/March 2024 session of the Parliament will strengthen the CFTC by enabling it to execute a more streamlined and effective enforcement of competition policy. It was mentioned by Hugh Ridell that as the bill is ready for adoption and in the remit of the Ministry, it is a low-hanging fruit.

In his statement, the Minister of Trade and Industry underscored that his vision is to see a vibrant Private Sector which is one of the key ingredients to Malawi’s economic development for positive Balance of Payments (BoP) and revenue generation. He pointed out that Malawi 2063 singled out private sector dynamism as an enabler for attaining aspirations relating to the structural transformation of the economy. All this underscores the need to have the right regulatory framework in place. The Minister indicated that his priorities include the promotion of local manufacturing that can increase earnings for the private sector, maximize revenue generation for the Government and create jobs. In addition, the Minister underscored the need to increase the private sector’s capacity in the production of packaging materials because of the growing demand as Malawi makes strides to improving the standards of locally produced products.   

In the joint statement, the Donors re-confirmed their commitment to support the MoIT in various priority areas such as undertaking a scoping mission to unearth issues and effects of the inconsistencies in the tax regime on the private sector, capacity development of the MoIT including supporting a resident legal officer and the implementation of the National Export Strategy II and AfCFTA Country Implementation Plan.

Both the Minister and Donors agreed that in view of the current economic turbulence that Malawi is going through including forex shortage and increases in prices, it is important to strengthen collaboration and avoid unnecessary delays in decisions to support producers and exporters. 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.