President Lazarus Chakwera says his administration will establish secondary cities to lift livelihoods in rural areas.
The Malawi leader made the remarks on Friday in his State of the Nation Address (SONA)
According to Chakwera, the cities will be an improvement on rural growth centres which were implemented by previous administrations.
He said the cities will have such facilities as a commercial bank, ADMARC depot, technical college, secondary school, youth centre, village
industries and processing plants, organized markets, and rural buses.
“As far as I am concerned, the true measure of our nation’s development is not the mammoth projects in our cities, but the lifted livelihoods in our villages.
“It is there, in the rural parts of Malawi, that my Administration desires to build a New Malawi to inspire a generation of New Malawians,” he said.
He added that he has directed the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to work with the Office of the Vice President through the Public Sector Reforms to develop a concept and budget for these cities.
“The Councils are critical stakeholders in our Rural Transformation and Development agenda, for they are at the epicentre of inclusive wealth creation in local communities. As such, we will continue with the development of Rural Growth Centres,” he said.
He added that he has directed the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to work with the Office of the Vice President through the Public Sector Reforms to develop a concept and budget for the cities.
