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Malawi is set to receive 58 million euro (about K48 billion) from the Germany Government for development programmes.
The Malawian government has welcomed this gesture as a sign of renewed donor confidence in Capital Hill.
Malawi’s Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe told media that the donors are interested in the country and want to see government succeed.
“People outside there are speaking highly of Malawi and they really want us to succeed, particularly in the private sector,” Gondwe.
“There isn’t direct budget support, as we used to understand it, but there is what we call Designated Support, like this one where our partners only want to know what we are going to use the money for. The budget support used to be money given to us without really discussing how it is going to be used and these resources will get to government through their agency, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).”
Gondwe also confirmed that government is also trying to woo the German Government into more investments, including hydro-electric, solar and wind power generation.
The German’s commitment to Malawi was announced by the Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Muller during a cooperation audience with President Peter Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
“We are committing 58 million euro as part of our economic cooperation with Malawi. But not only that, we want to strengthen political cooperation with Malawi.
“The prerequisite for development is good governance, peace and stability, as well as fighting corruption. We are pleased to note that Malawi is working hard to fight corruption and maintain peace. This is why we commit ourselves to supporting our identified key areas of support to Malawi which include agriculture, health, education and the G20 Compact with Africa for Malawi to become a member.”
Elaborating on the areas of support, Muller said Germany is committed to supporting the establishment of an Agricultural Innovation Centre to enhance agricultural production and marketing in the country.
“We note that Malawi has great potential to develop and we want to support the rural population by supporting agricultural enhancement programmes through the creation of the Agricultural Innovation Centre to increase value addition and to ensure fair prices and fair trade with Europe and the rest of the world,” he added.
Source : Malawi News Hub
