Why Malawi problems are beyond political parties?

….Malawi won’t change by miracles…..

By Anthony Bendulo

When did our forex crisis start? Why are we spending hours at fuel stations? Why do hospitals struggle with medicines? Why is Malawi not developing? Who is to blame—and what are we going to do about it?

These problems did not start yesterday, and they did not start with one political party.

We have changed Presidents. We have changed parties. DPP, MCP, UDF, PP—yet we keep getting similar results.

This is not one of those miracle money tricks, we can expect and hope Mavuto awawa Atha mwaokha, like we will wake up one day and find all problems gone and yet titangokhala and busy kutukwana governments….

Maybe the problem is bigger than politics.

I spent three years at the Office of the President and Cabinet, the centre of government, as Director of Innovation and Creativity. I saw where good ideas get stuck, where systems fail, and where the solutions are.

And I believe one fundamental change is necessary:

MALAWI MUST BECOME A PRODUCTION COUNTRY.

Our budgets are too focused on salaries, allowances, vehicles, workshops and conferences.

Where is the production-centred budget?

Where is the budget that says: this year we will produce more food, manufacture more goods, irrigate more land, create more industries and export more?

We have land. We have water. We have farmers. We have government farms. We have the MDF, Prison Service, universities, SMEs and millions of hardworking Malawians.

So why are we still asking where forex will come from?

Forex comes from production.

We should be producing soybeans, groundnuts, beans, rice, tomatoes, potatoes and other products for regional and international markets. We should be processing what we grow and exporting value—not simply exporting raw materials and importing finished products.

And why should we import everything?

If we build a house, where do the cement, pipes, timber, plastics, metals, iron sheets, tiles and fittings come from?

If we farm, where do the irrigation pipes, pumps and tools come from?

Innovation should mean asking: What can Malawi make? What can Malawi improve? What can Malawi export? What can we stop importing?

The SME preference policy had the right philosophy: when government buys from local producers, money circulates among Malawians. A local furniture company pays workers. Workers buy food. Farmers earn. Shops sell. Businesses grow.

That is how an economy begins to breathe.

But there is another problem we must understand.

I have repeatedly said we must do something about the 3 layers in governance,

MALAWI HAS THREE LAYERS.

1. The Professional Layer— laws, policies, regulations, ethics, institutions and what government is supposed to do.
2. The Political Layer — party politics, office politics, appointments and political interests.
3. The Crookedness Layer — where people ask, “What do I personally get?”

Anyone who wants to reform Malawi must understand all three.

When you say We must Fix malawi, what it means is you must close the doors for stealing money,

when you close a loophole for stealing, someone loses a benefit and people hate you,

When you redirect money from consumption into production, someone loses an opportunity.

That is why real reform is difficult.

Technology alone will not save us. A crooked system can defeat technology. We need better laws, better policies, better budgets, stronger institutions, better incentives and a culture of production as well as ability to control the political layer and crookedness layer so that professional layer can breathe.

We must stop asking only:

“Who should rule Malawi?”

And start asking:

“What kind of Malawi are we building?”

A Malawi that consumes?

Or a Malawi that produces?

A Malawi that imports?

Or a Malawi that manufactures?

A Malawi that waits for forex?

Or a Malawi that earns forex?

Zinthu zisintha bwanji pamenepo?

Azisinthe ndi ndani?

another President?

another political party?

another region, region or tribe?

Nooooo!!! Its only Us who can do this.

Malawi will not be transformed by miracles.

It will be transformed when our laws, policies, budgets, institutions and culture all begin pushing in the same direction: PRODUCTION.

Mavuto athuwa sangathe by kuganiza komati ehhh 2030 tisintha boma, basi dziko lomangoganiza mwachisankho Sankho ehhh zinthu sizikuyenda bwino basi ehh 2030, what about now?

If we don’t change Maputo awawa apitilila, MA 10 pin ochoka ku 25 kufika mtownwo afika mpaka 50 pin if we dont control dziko lathu, we need to think beyond wa yufi wa kongelesi or cadet wa DPP, we need to look at a bigger picture a thats what will make a turn around?

Nobody is coming to save Malawi.

We are the people who must save Malawi.