Mbandira Community College
Minister of Youth, Richard Chimwendo Banda says producing goods such as garments locally can help save the much needed forex instead of using it to import things the country can produce.
He was speaking on Tuesday in Nkhotakota during the hand-over ceremony of the newly constructed Mbandira Community College.
Chimwendo observed that the college, which will focus on garment manufacturing, has the potential of revamping the almost dead cotton industry in the district, besides helping government to achieve the creation of one million jobs for the youth.
“The government, under the leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera, is committed to ensuring that people from all walks of life are given opportunities irrespective of tribe or political affiliation.
“This is why government constructed this college here so that people should have the opportunity to acquire skills for them to become self-employed and employ others,” he said.
The minister then commended the African Development Bank (ADB) for supporting the ‘Jobs for Youth’ Project through funding the construction of technical colleges in the three regions of the country.
Speaking after receiving the college, Minister of Labour, Vera Kamtukule emphasized the need for the country’s technical colleges to offer skills trainings that would respond to people’s needs. She said the newly constructed college should offer trainings that would assist in cotton and sugarcane production, among others as these crops are grown in the district.
ADB Country Manager, Macmillan Anyanwu, said the bank would continue giving assistance to the country to spur economic growth for its citizens in various ways.
Mbandira Technical College has been constructed under the ‘Jobs for Youth’ Project funded by ADB. Through the project, government has also constructed colleges in Karonga, Neno and Phalombe districts.
Reported by Stanley Nkhondoyachepa
