For a long time now, ‘Best Buy Malawian’ campaign has been a song, one without recognisable actions and results on the ground.
Perhaps, it was waiting for this time when the administration of President Peter Mutharika is preaching about patriotism, integrity and hard work as the pillars for Malawi’s development.
Mutharika introduced the three pillars during the 2015 Independence Day celebrations held at the Kamuzu Stadium.
In his address, he said Malawians needed to adopt these pillars to develop their country and that government would move to organise a national conference where there would be drawn a national plan of implementation of the three pillars.
“We must agree how best we should inculcate these values in every Malawian. I want these values to be collectively-owned by all Malawians,” he said.
Ahead of such a conference, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, says it has plans to turn the ‘Best Buy Malawian’ campaign from a wish to policy statement.
It is expected that once launched, the policy would govern its implementation across all sectors.
Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Wiskes Mkombezi, told the media last week that the government would ensure that the initiative is a success and that having a policy framework would help to guide the implementation of the campaign.
“To the manufacturer or trader, we urge them to continue making quality products for our market. Quality is the way and, as government, we will continue to support them. To the consumers, and buyers, this is the time we should consume Malawian products for the good of the economy,” said Mkombezi.
Mkombezi’s call encapsulates the pillars of integrity, patriotism and hard work.
Executive Director for Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) John Kapito said a sense of patriotism may help Malawians realise the importance of buying local products.
But he argued that the focus should not only be on consumers.
“What people think, when they hear the word ‘patriotism’, is that it applies to consumers— because they are the ones who choose to buy foreign products— and not producers, since some producers are foreign direct investors. This is a wrong perception. Producers can induce a sense of patriotism in local consumers by manufacturing quality products.
“Again, if a consumer buys foreign products when local manufacturers have similar products, with the same quality, that is not patriotism on the part of the consumer because it’s like creating employment in other countries while also contributing to the externalisation of foreign exchange. Patriotism is two-way process,” said Kapito.
He said producers who produce goods and services of poor quality lose out on integrity.
“To me, the pillar of integrity applies to producers of goods and services and the consumers only make decisions based on the track record, or integrity, of the producer. This principle also applies to the export of goods. If foreign consumers develop trust in Malawian products, you will find that the products will market themselves. We have cases of products such as tea, macadamia nuts, coffee from Malawi winning the hearts of foreign consumers,” said Kapito.
He, however, said the challenge in applying the three pillars lies in the fact that they [pillars] are not in any national blue print.
Indigenous Business Association of Malawi (Ibam) chairperson, Mike Mlombwa, also said hard work goes hand in hand with integrity.
He said if properly understood, the pillars could go a long way in helping Malawians avoid falling into the pit of vices such as corruption.
“If one realises the importance of hard work, they may not take short cuts such as paying kickbacks in order to win tenders and contracts. Short cuts are a sign that people have no trust in themselves and their products and services.
“People who work hard advertise themselves through their achievements and it becomes easy for them to meet demands for their services and products because they invest their energy and resources to bring about positive results,” said Mlombwa.
He added that hard work could help clean Malawi’s image, which, he said, is soiled by reports of corruption and lack of transparency— as indicated by reports issued by bodies such as Transparency International.
“In fact, campaigns such as ‘Best Buy Malawian’ may prove to be a failure if producers do not abandon their business-as-usual attitude and take advantage of policy-makers’ good will in promoting the consumption of local products and services “At the same time, the government should reward hard work by removing the bottlenecks to doing business in Malawi and by doing business with local entrepreneurs whenever the need arises. It is not just a consumer/ producer affair. The government has a role to play too,” said Mlombwa.
He added that banks should also be seen to reward hard work and integrity of local entrepreneurs by ensuring that there is a cut-off point in terms of interest payment.
He said in other countries, banks stop charging interest on loans once a borrower pays back half of the borrowed money, a development that offers the borrower a chance to grow their business, thereby building on their capacity to supply quality products and services.
“If banks do not reward one’s hard work and integrity by providing flexible services, you will find that the indigenous Malawian will be pre-occupied with plans to make the best out of the situation, and may have little time to reflect on pillars such as integrity, hard work and patriotism.
“So, as you can see, promoting these pillars requires a multi-stakeholder involvement and all of us, banks inclusive, should be seen to be helping the President actualise his plans,” said Mlombwa.
President for Economic Empowerment Action Group (EEAG) president, Lewis Chiwalo, said there was need to include the three pillars in national documents.
“I think these pillars would be welcome because some of them are not new. Malawians have already been working very hard. But sometimes, those in business face problems with tax collection authorities because the Malawi Revenue Authority is under increased pressure to meet targets. So, on hard work, the government should start rewarding hard workers by easing down on taxes because these taxes are killing local businesses,” he said.
Chiwalo also observed that integrity could be cultivated on the part of businesses through a flexible banking and tax regime.
“But this is impossible with our punitive tax regime,” said Chiwalo.
Leave a Reply