Thinking capacity differentiates Malawi from rich countries – Mutharika

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Mutharika

President Peter Mutharika has claimed that the way Malawians think is the reason the country is not rich.

Mutharika was speaking on Tuesday at the launch of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy—MGDS III at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.

Mutharika says Malawi is not a poor country.

The president said whatever nation God created in the world, he gave people land and water for natural resources, the people to work on the natural resources and the mind to think of how to use the resources.

He added that the only real difference that exists between developed nations and underdeveloped nations is how people think.

“Malawi is not a poor country. We are a rich country with many poor people. But we have everything that we need to take our people from poverty to prosperity.

“Today, we have put together our minds on a common strategy for taking this country to the next level of development,” said Mutharika.

According to the president, the development strategy represents the collective hopes and dreams of the people as well as the convictions and aspirations of Malawi nation.

Mutharika observed that Malawi wants to become a producing and exporting nation and to stop being a predominantly importing and consuming nation hence there is need to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability with better water management and irrigation.

He expressed hope that irrigation farming will lead to commercial agriculture which can become a catalyst for industrialisation.

“In the making of a productive nation, we also need young men and women with skills to create their own industries and businesses. We need education for socio-economic development and industrial growth. We are already building community technical colleges and implementing other projects to achieve this goal,” Said Mutharika.

The third Malawi Growth and Development Strategy has five key priorities which will be used to build a productive, competitive and resilient nation.

The priority areas are Agriculture, Water Development and Climate Change, Education and Skills Development, Energy, Industry and Tourism Development, Transport and ICT Infrastructure and Health and Population.

Each of the sectors has a specific flagship project, with key performance outcome indicators and time-framed targets.

According to Mutharika, the strategy is Malawi’s instrument for implementing specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

It is also a tool for implementing the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) under the Southern African Development Community (SADC).