Aspiring independent presidential candidate Milward Tobias says his administration will speed up the pace at which the economy is growing to six times the current pace in order to accelerate the process of achieving an inclusively wealth and self-reliant nation.
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Tobias, in a statement shared on Thursday, added that his government will create an enabling political environment that guarantees good governance.
“In the past, we had periods when Malawi economy grew at a faster rate consistently over several years. For example, from 1971 to 1979, and from 2006 to 2011 these were some of the golden years in Malawi.
“This gives hope that with good leadership, we can grow this economy again. My government will bring back these golden years by stabilizing the macroeconomic environment to anchor sectoral transformations. We will also facilitate public and private investments in productive sectors, in economic growth catalysts and in social services,” he said.
Turning to governance, Tobias said his government will fix the chain of command to enhance discipline and efficiency in public service by promoting accountability and transparency through, among others, conducting quarterly progress review meetings chaired by the president, which will be broadcast live for the public to follow and participate.
The aspiring His Excellency stated that during the review meetings, cabinet ministers, parastatal boards, and leadership of local councils and their respective management teams will present progress in the implementation of their plans, including procurement and prices of what they are procuring.
He said the review meetings will take the form, which the Public Sector Reforms Commission took in 2015 to mid-2017 except this time they will be broadcast live and there will be a feedback mechanism for the public to ask questions or clarification.
“We will root out corruption decisively. Fighting corruption is a war. Being a war, it needs troops who are loyal to their nation. Troops who are well-trained and well-resourced. Above all, troops who are best commanded. The agencies responsible for fighting corruption are the troops. The president is the commander. Like in a military war, if troops are compromised, it is difficult to win the fight against corruption.
“If the commander is compromised, it is impossible to win the fight against corruption. It is acknowledged that corruption is endemic in nearly all sectors and all arms of government. Nonetheless, the public service is the siphoning point and that is the area under direct charge of a president. When the source of siphoning money is closed, there will be no incentive for corrupt people to bride other arms of government to secure protection.
“Government will decisively fight against corruption because the campaign is being done in honesty and honest means of resourcing it. All systemic traps that lead to advance state capture and advanced candidate capture are being eliminated before getting into office.
“That is why I am not forming a political party which has been a systemic cause of corruption in several ways including financing it and having political party members interfering with government operations and procurement,” said Tobias.
