Malawi’s economists say home grown solutions should be prioritised if the country has to make meaningful progress in all sectors of the economy.
The economists reached the consensus at the end of a two day annual conference of Economics
Association of Malawi ( ECAMA) that zeroed in on economic stabilization in light of external shocks.
Chancellor College’s Associate Professor Ronald Mangani led the discussion with his presentation titled ‘The Quest for Pragmatic Economic Management in Malawi’.
Mangani argued that for a long time the country has been stuck with structural programmes that do not fit perfectly with the reality on the ground hence the call for a new thinking and deep analysis on what works for the country.
“The Success of Neo-liberalism is in its failure. Comprehensive policy reforms dangled in return for Western aid since 1981 need to be revisited,” he said.
Ecama’s president Lauryn Nyasulu said the economists’ body appreciates the responsibility it
has to play in turning around the fortunes of the country through constructive submissions to
Government on key economic matters.
She said: “As an association we are supposed to provide economic advice to Government and we will make sure this advice is research based.”