Mining & Trade News

The Malawi Government has announced plans to cushion the country’s tourism sector which has greatly been hit by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Speaking during the opening of the 2020/2021 budget meeting of parliament in Lilongwe, State President Arthur Peter Mutharika said the plans include suspension of 1% Tourism Levy on tourism goods and services consumed;general deferment of business loan repayments; and encouraging voluntary pay cuts in the sector to sustain existing jobs.

Mutharika also said his government is developing a bailout fund to support the tourism sector.

He said in order to build resilience in post-COVID-19 period, Government is developing a National Tourism Crisis Management Strategy and Plan for effective coordination of crisis management in the sector.

He said: “Government will soon undertake a comprehensive review of the Tourism and Hotels Act to among others, establish a semi-autonomous Tourism Authority.”

“Government will also develop a Tourism Master Plan and carry out a feasibility study for the development of Nankumba peninsular as a tourism hub.”

Mutharika stressed that tourism remains a priority sector and a vehicle for economic growth and wealth creation though the emergency of the pandemic has adversely affected the sector’s contribution towards Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said: “The anticipated financial and job losses in the sector are huge and likely to worsen should the pandemic persist.”

“However, in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, Government is implementing measures to ensure that the sector is back on track and our economy is breathing normally.”

On trade and industry development, Mutharika promised continued reforms in the sector to facilitate an enabling environment for investments.

He pointed out that his government has already successfully implemented other reforms in the sector including the introduction of Electronic Permit (E-permit) System that has reduced the time it takes to obtain various permits such as Business Residence Permit and Temporary Employment Permit from six months to five days.

He said the Malawi Government also reviewed the Investment and Export Promotion Act which aims at strengthening Malawi Investment and Trade Centre in order to improve its capacity on investment and trade promotion.

Mutharika pledged that in the next Financial Year, Government will continue to create a conducive environment for trade and industry by reviewing related national policies including Business Licensing Policy and Anti-Counterfeit Policy.

He also said under his leadership, the Malawi Government will continue the implementation of the National Export Strategy which focuses on strengthening the private sector, investment promotion, trade facilitation and economic empowerment.

In 2019, Government projected an economic growth rate of 5.5% in the year 2020 but this seems a tall order due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected many growth sectors of the economy forcing the government to revise the economy growth projection for 2020 to1.9%.

Government has also revised downwards the real GDP growth projection for 2021 from an anticipated 5.8% to 4.5%.

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