The first Buy Malawi Day commemoration takes place today.
President Peter Mutharika decreed during Buy Malawi Strategy launch last year that March 18 be set aside as Buy Malawi Day.
The day has been set aside to celebrate Malawi’s uniqueness through consumption of domestically produced items and services.
Ministry of Industry and Trade Principal Secretary, Cliff Chiunda, said the Buy Malawi Day is a component of the Buy Malawi Strategy, which aims to encourage consumption of locally produced goods and services through deliberate interventions.
He expressed hope that the day would stimulate the utilisation of local products and services, thereby increasing competitiveness of local firms, re-industrialisation and job creation.
““The private sector is urged to produce and deliver quality goods and services that meet the tastes and needs of our people, as well as those of the export markets,” Chiunda said.
He, therefore, urged the private sector, NGO’s and the public sector to join hands with the government in celebrating the day.
“On this particular day, therefore, shoppers across the country are urged to identify and buy local goods and services. Efforts are being undertaken to ensure that local products are easily identified by starring the ‘Buy Malawian Build Malawi’ logo, especially for flagship products that satisfy highest quality standards,” he said.
Last year, Mutharika declared that government institutions should lead by example and buy at least 30 percent of goods and services from Malawi.
He further called upon hospitality industry players to set aside one day in a week to serve Malawian dishes, further urging lending institutions to put emphasis on lending money to enterprises that produce goods and services locally.
Leave a Reply