As Malawi heads toward the 16 September 2025 elections, the issue of job creation has become one of the most contested policy arenas.
The People’s Party (PP) under former President Joyce Banda has promised to create 100,000 overseas job opportunities for Malawian youths in Dubai.
This pledge comes at a time when unemployment and underemployment remain among the most pressing challenges facing the country’s youth.
PP Secretary General Ben Chakhame recently announced that the party has already secured preliminary agreements with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate these jobs in hotels, airports, and various service industries.
The initiative aims to provide immediate employment for Malawian youths, while also generating remittance income that could benefit thousands of families.
On the other hand, President Lazarus Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has faced criticism for failing to meet its own ambitious job creation target.
The MCP had promised to create one million jobs during its first five years in office from 2020 to 2025, a pledge that was highlighted as a cornerstone of its campaign agenda.
However, as Chakwera’s first term draws to a close, evidence of meeting this target is limited, with many analysts arguing that the promise has not been realized.
In its new 2025 manifesto, the MCP has now shifted its focus to creating three million decent jobs in the next five years, targeting sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism, and infrastructure.
This raises serious questions about credibility, given the government’s failure to meet the initial one million jobs target.
PP is seeking to leverage this shortfall by offering a tangible and externally anchored solution to unemployment through overseas labour markets.
The contrasting strategies highlight a key difference in approach—while MCP aims to generate jobs domestically, PP is looking beyond Malawi’s borders to tackle the unemployment crisis.
For many young voters, the PP’s overseas jobs pledge may appear more immediate and practical compared to MCP’s promises, which require large-scale economic reforms and investment to materialize.
However, PP’s strategy also comes with risks, including the challenges of ensuring fair labour contracts, safe working conditions, and legal protections for Malawians working in the UAE.
Concluding Analysis
The comparison between PP’s job creation plan and MCP’s record underscores the importance of trust and delivery in Malawi’s political landscape.
Chakwera’s administration has faced growing frustration over its failure to achieve the one million jobs promise, casting doubt over the feasibility of its new three million jobs target.
Meanwhile, Joyce Banda’s PP is positioning itself as a party with a bold, results-oriented approach, promising jobs that have already been negotiated with foreign partners.
Yet, voters must weigh the sustainability of exporting labour against the long-term benefits of domestic job creation.
Ultimately, the 2025 elections will test whether Malawians prefer the global labour opportunities promised by PP or the domestic job creation vision outlined by MCP, despite its past failures.
The choice will hinge on which party can convince the public that its promises are not just political rhetoric, but actionable plans that can transform lives.
