Ex-MRA CEO James Phiri to oversee govt economic recovery plan

Malawi President Joyce Banda and her Cabinet have agreed to roll out an 18-month-plus economic recovery plan (ERP) expected to cushion economic problems being experienced by Malawians.

Speaking in an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Saturday after a day-long seminar the Cabinet ministers held in the lakeshore district of Mangochi, with Banda in attendance, Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said their discussions strictly hinged on a similar meeting they had in May this year.

Kunkuyu said government has identified some ministries as major drivers of the ERP.

“It was these ministries that made various presentations on the project, highlighting strategies that would see Malawi on a true sustainable path to economic recovery.

“As government, we understand the suffering Malawians are going through; that is why we had this meeting to see how best this can be tackled, “said Kunkuyu.

He said government will unveil the economic recovery programme “in the nearest future”, stressing it is a package that requires the involvement of all stakeholders.

Said the minister: “It is expected that the Malawi Growth Development Strategy (MGDS-II) and the ERP will be launched together at a date the Minister of Economic Planning and Development will announce, to embrace the nine priorities of MGDS-11.

“Those earmarked to be in the forefront for the programme include the ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Transport and Public Works, Trade and Industry, Tourism and Culture and Energy and Mining.

“Information and communication technology (ICT) has also been identified as very crucial for the implementation the ERP.”

The meeting, according to Kunkuyu, agreed to have former Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) chief executive officer James Phiri as overseer of operations of the programme.