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Malawi poverty
reduced by one third since 2003 -official
Nyasa Times, June 11, 2010
Malawi has
managed to reduce poverty by one third since 2003,
according to Newby Henry Kumwembe, Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Malawi.He
was speaking at a side event organized by CUTS
Geneva Resource Centre in the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) on during the review of Malawi
trade policy
“Poverty
in Malawi has been reduced from 64% of the
population to 40% since 2003,” said
Kumwembe.According to Kumwembe this impressive
reduction in poverty “has been possible due to
sustained economic growth and by maintaining an open
trade policy regime.”
Kumwembe
also highlighted the many challenges still faced by
Malawi.“The two most important challenges facing
Malawi are: very high transport costs as Malawi is a
landlocked country; and the lack of supply-side
capacities”, he said.
He
appealed to Malawi development partners for more
aid-for-trade to enable Malawi to realize its full
developmental potential.David Luke of the United
National Development Programme concurred with the
assessment by Kumwembe.
According
to Luke “Malawi presents a mixed picture in
mainstreaming trade into development and inadequate
human and financial resources are the main causes
for under-performance”.He also mentioned that social
sectors had received greater attention from donors
than productive sectors. While investment in social
sectors is extremely important, productive sectors
too should not be ignored.
Michael
Roberts of the WTO Secretariat in his presentation
pointed out the importance of aid for trade in
helping countries like Malawi maximizing the
contribution of trade to economic development and
poverty reduction.
He pointed
out that “growth should be sustained and broad-based
to ensure lasting development impacts”. Among the
many constraints mentioned, he also identified the
need for better coordination among donors. For
example, more than twenty donors are active in
Malawi without always coordinating their funding
activities.
The event
was attended by representatives of government
missions, international organizations, and civil
society in Geneva. This was also the first time that
such an event was organized in the WTO by an NGO.
The news item
can also be viewed at:
http://www.nyasatimes.com/
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