Minister of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife Michael Usi, says his Ministry has made some good strides over the past 8 months in the areas of tourism, culture and wildlife management.
The Minister disclosed this in Parliament on Monday, 4 April, 2022, when he was presenting a ministerial statement on the strategic policy direction for the ministry and achievements.
According to Usi, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife’s achievements include finalization of the development of National Tourism Investment Master Plan which will be the blueprint for Tourism Development for the next twenty years to guide product development and diversification, infrastructure development, manpower development, and equitable tourism investment, among others.
He added that the ministry has also produced the first-ever Domestic and Outbound Tourism Survey Report as well as the Annual Tourism Statistical report in conjunction with the National Statistics Office to improve the system of Tourism Statistics for evidence-based policy decision-making.
The minister further said that his ministry has trained 647 Tourism enterprises across the country in Tourism Business Management and Communication to make Tourism MSMEs more competitive, adaptive, and resilient, ultimately improving the visitors’ experience.
Another achievement, Usi said, is the signing of memorandum of understanding on cooperation with several countries in the region including South Africa, Zimbabwe, and recently, Kenya that will facilitate development of multi-country tourist packages to leverage international tourists visiting the region.
Usi also noted that Malawi has over 20,000 active artists, artisans, and practitioners for the Arts and Creative industries and their work and services make a significant contribution towards job creation, tourism, and upholding of virtues of national cultural identity.
“As a Ministry when it comes to Arts and Creative Industries, we have reviewed and submitted five bills to the Ministry of Justice which will assist to improve the responsiveness to changes in the arts, creative industries and heritage landscape. The bills are: National Arts and Heritage Council Bill which will improve coordination in the arts and heritage industry, the Classification of Entertainment and Publications Bill which will improve rating of artistic work, the Arts and Creative Industries Bill which will enhance artistic expressions, the Museums and Heritage Bill which will contribute to improved preservation of the country’s heritage resources; and the National Records and Archives Bill which will improve preservation of country’s documentary resources,” said Usi.
He further added that his Ministry has facilitated development of procedures for the establishment of a Copyright Fund aimed at supporting civic education and enforcement of the Copyright Law and launched a three-year Project on Strengthening Institutional Capacities in implementing the Malawi Cultural Policy to enhance implementation of the Malawi Cultural Policy in line with the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
According to Usi, going forward, his Ministry intends to support the finalization of a legislative framework for the creation of the National Arts and Heritage Council and supporting innovations to market and promote the creative industries through online platforms.
On improving conservation and preservation of the country’s cultural heritage resources for posterity and tourism, Usi said his Ministry has commenced the improvement of the presentation of the Malape Pillars to promote the local development of surrounding communities.
He added that his Ministry has supported a 31-member dance troupe with cloth, shoes, and MK2 million as a business start-up.
He also noted that the ministry has commenced the restoration works of for Mangochi to improve accessibility through the construction of pathways and an access road and restored the Mtunthama Monuments which now bears a mini-exhibition about Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda’s legacy.
