Malawi unveils growth plan

Malawi, one of the world’s most impoverished countries, has unveiled an economic blueprint to accelerate growth and reduce poverty

with a focus on improving the agricultural industry.

"The national economic policy will set Malawi on a growth path and eventually enable the country to break out of the poverty trap," said President Bingu wa Mutharika in a speech aired live on state radio.

He said the policy, titled Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), would also aim to attain growth rates of six percent per year in the coming years.

"What we want is fast growth to reduce poverty...our country is not poor, poverty is in our minds as we have abundant resources which can be turned into new wealth," Mutharika said.

World Bank representative in the country Nkhwima Nthara, said the country’s agriculture industry "needs to be more productive, develop its infrastructure and have skilled people" for growth to take place.

He said "strong growth was achievable," but Malawi lacked the skilled manpower to attain it.

The World Bank, one of the main sponsors of Malawi’s economic reforms, wants the economy to grow by at least six percent a year to create jobs and wealth.

About 65 percent of Malawi’s population of 12 million still live below poverty line and on less than a dollar a day.

Donors, bankrolling 80 percent of the country’s development programme, have in the past fingered graft as a major cause of Malawi’s endemic poverty, especially rampant during the decade-long rule of former president Bakili Muluzi.

Mutharika, hand-picked by Muluzi to succeed him, is the country’s third president since the introduction of democratic reforms in 1994, and pledged to bring economic stability to the country with an annual per capita income of 210 US dollars.

Malawi is also battling HIV and Aids which has affected around 14 percent of the population.There are about 80,000 Aids-related deaths every year.