MW2063 - The Malawi We Want!
Malawians have spoken. The Malawi 2063 (MW2063) aims to transform Malawi into a wealthy and self-reliant industrialized uppermiddle-income country’ by the year 2063. Already, projections indicate that if the economy grows at an annual average rate of six percent, Malawi will attain the low middle-income status by 2030. As a matter of fact, if the country is more innovative and productive, both the low and upper middle-income statuses will be reached much earlier.
This Vision has been developed through an inclusive and participatory multi-stakeholder consultative process involving Malawians of different backgrounds from all corners of the country and in the diaspora. The MW2063 outlines collective aspirations and goals of our people towards the year 2063. It is anchored on the three pillars of Agricultural Productivity and Commercialization; Industrialization; and Urbanization. It articulates the enablers that will propel the country towards achieving economic independence, inclusive wealth creation, self-reliance and a high quality of life for all its citizens.
As a nation, we have for a long time pursued development policy based on foreign paradigms as a solution to our unique and specific situation instead of proactively addressing the specific problems that our country faces. Our aspiration in this Vision is to
shift our thinking and approach to begin believing in our own ideas and home-grown solutions. For a long time, we have relied on development aid and loans to finance our development programmes. Our desire is to develop and implement resource mobilization efforts that will enable us to create our own wealth and only borrow for investments with high economic returns.
Having a highly youthful population, we recognize that our greatest resource and source of wealth is our young people. The Malawian youth is, therefore, central in harnessing the successful achievement of our Vision.
Transformation is desired on two fronts. Firstly, our development narrative and mindset must change from focusing on poverty reduction to wealth creation. Secondly, we must transform the structure of our economy from a predominantly importing to an industrialized exporting economy. The process shall be owned and led by the people of Malawi fostering nation building and self-reliance, including in development financing, building of industries and commercializing agriculture. We must move together with a shared mandate and values, ‘kuyenda pamodzi ndi mtima umodzi’, to the desired future.
As a country, we recognize the national, regional and global contexts within which our Vision of inclusive wealth creation and self-reliance will operate and be delivered. We shall hence anchor our vision to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
including their variants moving forward; the continental Agenda 2063 that defines the Africa we want; and the strategies of the Regional Economic Communities to which we belong.
Our political leaders must not be obsessed with power, but put the needs of Malawians first using the authority given to them on trust by the people to develop the country to its full potential. This will initiate and sustain a culture in Malawians of striving to create their own wealth and desist from worshiping and praising those in authority in search of undue ‘economic entitlements’ and hand-outs. We shall know we have attained self-reliance once we pr imarily star t to f inance our development needs by ourselves. When we shall no longer rely on the goodwill of others to survive as households, a community or as a nation, our road to self-reliance shall be assured.
We shall know if we are becoming self-reliant when all our constituencies across the country are guaranteed of the minimum level of socioeconomic amenities aimed at promoting a good quality of life for all. These include: adequate and nutritious food for everyone through-out the year ; well-equipped and staffed health facilities in line with existing population numbers; well-equipped and staffed early childhood development centers, primary and secondary schools that take into account the existing population and offer a minimum of 12 years of formal and quality education to every Malawian child; available and accesible reliable electricity; access to tarmac roads; reliable and available clean piped water; available and accessible technical and vocational training centers; full connection to internet ser vices; and decent housing for all. While benchmarking to international
standards, when these minimums are met, we shall know that we are on the road to the realization of the aspiration of an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant society by 2063.
This calls for a positive mindset built around values of national consciousness such as unity, patriotism, hard-work, integrity, self-help and hating hand-outs. None other than us Malawians will change the development course of our nation. We will, therefore, not allow anyone to derail us. There are no excuses, but to create wealth and become self-reliant using our own abilities and resources.
We shall hence demand of all political parties to align their manifestoes to our Vision. Similarly, all development partners, Nongovernmental Organizations as well as any state and non-state actor shall ensure implementation of only those transformative development initiatives that either catalyze or sustain our inclusive wealth creation and self-reliance Vision.
The Malawi we want is possible and will happen!