The Maravi Post

BLANTYRE—Minister of Industry and Trade Sosten Gwengwe conceded in parliament that the One Village One Product (OVOP) programme is faced with numerous challenges including underfunding.

Responding to a question from a Chikhwawa North legislator, Gwengwe said:

“The programme has registered little progress because of inadequate funding. The ministry planned to construct a number of OVOP markets in some districts like Chikhwawa but the directors of public works in these districts can’t do anything to roll out construction works due to unavailability of funds,” he said.

Gwengwe told the House that he has discussed with the minister of finance how the government could help the programme.

OVOP, which gets technical support Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), aims to develop goods and services through value adding by communities using locally available resources in designated area.
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© The Maravi Post 2013

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