By Wadza Botomani

Those people in manufacturing businesses such as furniture, alcoholic beverages, leather and food related materials should hope for a wider smile because the Buy Malawi strategy is no longer a just laughing matter.

For a long time Buy Malawi strategy has been used as a campaign tool by the previous regimes.

However the Malawi leader President Chakwera has spoken with vigour and energy that the behavior of buying everything outside the country leaving out our own manufacturing industry folding their companies is now water under the bridge.

“In March last year, I spoke about the need to support the local industry by encouraging the local buying of materials for Government officers such as police uniforms. Yet just last week, uniforms for police officers were captured at the airport, which means some in our midst do not take this policy seriously.

“But the policy remains in force. Unless you have a special waiver from my office, the procurement of uniforms by Government from outside the country is banned forthwith. I also order the Ministry of Trade and Industry to release a full list of products subject to a similar ban,” said Chakwera.

The Malawi Leader has since discouraged the behaviour of exporting more legumes without tracking its forex.

“Another Ministry that we will
leverage to transform our economy into a productive one is Trade and Industry. It is not acceptable that Malawi exports huge volumes of crops such as legumes to our neighbouring countries and beyond
with little to no forex coming back into our economy.

“To reverse this trend, I have appointed a new Minister of Trade and Industry to work jointly with other agencies in deploying a rapid strategy that tracks the exportation of produce, while my Administration continues to make progress in establishing a digital platform for marking and tracking all commodities
traded in our economy,” the President told Parliament.