Govt starts getting public views on Economic Recovery Plan

The Ministry of Information and Civic Education is today expected to engage the public in Blantyre on the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).

In a statement issued yesterday, Director of Information Isaac Ziba said the main focus points at the meeting will be the implementation ERP, the institutional arrangements and the results that the government envisages to see in the real economy in the immediate, short and medium terms.

“Government would like to inform the Malawi Nation that it is going full scale in implementing the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) based on five of the nine priorities as identified in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy – II(MGDS-II).

“Government cherishes the idea of constant interaction with the general public as it rolls out the ERP. This interaction will take different formats including update meetings with different sectors of the society,” Ziba said.

He said concerned sectors will make short presentations on their specific sectors and it is envisaged that the presentations will form the basis for discussion and input from those invited to the update.

The consultations are coming at a time when the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) has branded the ERP as too vague saying it does not give hope to Malawians that it will help ease the challenges the country is facing.

The chamber’s Chief Executive Officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira said in Mzuzu on Wednesday that a lot of areas in the ERP need to be expounded because it is so simple since it does not explain the main innovations that the plan will bring to the country.

“The plan comes when the people have great expectations so it has to state exact measures that will be put in place by government,” Kaferapanjira said.