President Chakwera will meet with private sector once every quarter

Presidential team defends Chakwera's frequent international trips, claiming that he is the country's chief marketer.

Colleen Zamba, Presidential Chief Advisor on SDGs

MALAWI: Colleen Zamba, Presidential Chief Advisor on SDGs and International Affairs and the Head of the Presidential Delivery Unit - PDU, has said President Lazarus Chakwera will meet with the private sector once every three months as part of his agenda to create jobs, wealth, and food security.

She stated this during the statehouse quarter press briefing on Tuesday morning in Lilongwe at Kamuzu Palace, where she stated that the private sector must be involved in order to create jobs and wealth because it is the engine of an economy's growth.

She went on to defend the president's frequent international trips, claiming that Chakwera is the country's chief marketer.

As a result, he must market this country in order for investors to come, she said.

"It is critical that the president represents the country at various forums and markets Malawi because, in this core driver of agro-industrialization, trade and investment are critical to producing net exports for this country to generate jobs,” she elaborated.

In his remarks, presidential spokesperson, Anthony Kasunda stated that it is the president's wish that “we all prosper together without leaving anyone behind so that no Malawian goes without basic necessities”.

Kasunda said: "The president is saying that no one should go without basic necessities in life, which is why there have been a number of interventions such as the social-economic recovery plan, social cash transfers, and loans disbursed by NEEF, to name a few."

He also stated that it is not true that the government has withheld resources or reduced the budget for ACB to prosecute some of the cases that it has in court.

"The issue at ACB has not been one of budget or funding; rather, it has been one of access to actual money. It has to do with IFMIS (Integrated Financial Management Information System), and the government has not withheld resources,” he said.