By Linda Kwanjana
Renowned senior economist Dr Ben Dzolowere has told the minister of trade to wake up, saying things are currently not working in the trade sector.
In an exclusive interview with our reporters, Dr Dzolowere said Malawi’s trade balance of 1 to 3 is killing the country, with exports at 1 billion US dollars against imports of 3 billion US dollars, a difference of 2 billion dollars that is killing the Kwacha, forex and jobs.
Dr Dzolowere said the minister should leave his comfort zone, go into shops to see how expensive imported goods are and how Malawians are struggling, and visit companies to understand their challenges and help them with standards, certification and markets to enable them export.
He said trade does not happen in an office but in factories, farms and markets, and the ministry needs a deliberate and aggressive export strategy that is action on the ground, not documents.
On promoting local products, Dr Dzolowere said the minister should promote the Buy Malawian Strategy which government introduced and launched a long time ago.
He said the minister should not sleep on this important document but actively implement it to encourage Malawians to buy locally produced goods and reduce the import bill.
Dr Dzolowere said Malawians cannot continue to be a supermarket for foreign products while exporting nothing, and that Malawians need a working minister, not a talking minister.
