Malawi’s poverty status can be thought to be where it is because of particular perpetrators, however easy this might be said, it can’t be necessarily pointed to a single source. Just as an architect in the construction sector plans, designs and reviews structures, so can be thought of poverty instigators in Malawi who have been at the mainstay of planning, designing most of causative agents of poverty. Poverty in Malawi has deep rooted in the system to an extent that it has orchestrated ripple effects and continues to grow strong.
Poverty Architects have produced blueprints that have carefully outlined and planned foundations propagating poverty, these blueprints have formed physical structures that have given strongholds that poverty is thriving on. Strong walls made of concrete and steel have been built around develop making it difficult for poverty to unleash its grip and escape. Thus it has been nurtured for years and continues to grow strong. Unless these walls are brought down, poverty will always be with us. Poverty architects have built structures such as corruption, bad governance, weak institutions, low production base and religion among other structures designed to lock down poverty among the citizenry in Malawi. All interventions that come to unleash poverty fails to materialize as they faces strong restrictions made possible by these features.
The Architectural design of poverty in Malawi;
Corruption- The rampant misuse or abuse of public office for private gain has grown wings among public office bearers and mere citizens. Corruptions in all its forms, including bribery, extortion, fraud, nepotism, speed money, theft, and embezzlement have been with us to an extent that is now being considered as normal and is slowly becoming an acceptable way of life. Corruption has contained poverty among us and without breaking this bound, poverty will always be with us if strong political will and strong institutions are not enacted to eradicate it.
Bad governance- Bad governance is by far one of the pillars of poverty bemoaning our society, it involves abuse of human rights, corruption, lack of transparency, lack of responsiveness, and lack of accountability. Leaders that Malawians have elected have failed to steer the country into prosperity as they failed to uphold fine principles of good governance that are fundamental in poverty eradication. Leaders have been unable to manage public affairs and public resources and have failed to meet the needs of society while making the best use of all resources at their disposal. They can be characterised as being corrupt, crime tolerant, and permissive to the misuse of public resources and abuse of power etc. These structures have been put firm, thus all new leaders despite having different ideologies fit in their ideologies along these lines after time.
Low skill base- Malawi still remains a country that has the fewest people who attain tertiary education. According to recent studies conducted by UNESCO, less than 3% of the population have access to tertiary education. This basically means that the number of productive citizens that are equipped with technical skills that can spar the nation’s economy are very low, thus investments in industry and SMEs are very limited, leading to a stunted economy. Unless enough youth are trained in technical skills, the country shall continue to be in this poverty trap.
Weak state and non-state Institutions- Weak institutions, both state and non-state have given birth to weak governments and structures that have been less effective in the execution of its mandates and in the implementation of various objectives that are supposed to transform Malawi. Weak institutions have on the other hand affected good governance as the state is not held accountable of actions it takes towards development. Institutions such as The Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau has failed to halt rampant corruption as it is a puppet of the government of the day where the state president has unprecedented control over affairs of the cooperation. Institutions such as Electricity supply cooperation of Malawi (ESCOM), Water board and ADMARC are failing to deliver basic mandatory service such as electricity and water to Malawians who rely on such for survivor and to sustain their enterprises. The civil society has not effectively performed its duty on acting as watch dogs, thus the citizenry do not have a mouth where their grievances can be heard. All this has entrapped poverty in the system, thus Malawians are failing to proper.
Donor irrelevant policies and Overdependence on Aid and Hand-outs- The presence of aid which is meant to spar economic growth has to some extent retrogressed development in developing countries, Malawi inclusive. The aid industry has seen a rapid expansion, characterized by an increase in the number of organizations, amounts of funding and geographical reach. Arguably aid and international assistance paradoxically poses a barrier to recipient country development and sustainable economic growth (Moyo, 2009). Haphazard aid disbursement by development partners and the donor community has arguably propagated poverty in Malawi, in cases were corruption becomes rampant.Aid brings in a spirit of dependency, especially when channeled to humanitarian needs rather than investments that have the ability of creating jobs. The spirit of dependency chocks other industries such as industry and agriculture, thus reducing a countries potential of sustaining itself. Additionally, aid disbursers distort prioritizing of developmental agendas in a country, thus give support in areas of low impact. Aid is disbursed based on earmarked priority areas. ‘Earmarking’ is a strategy favoured by many international donors who fear corruption in recipient governments, therefore ‘earmark’ direct sector or programme funding rather than general government budget support (Foster and Leavy, 2001). This not only shifts the agenda-making power to donors who have the authority to set priorities and direct funds accordingly, but also creates patchy and unsustainable development where some sectors outperform others. This has caused countries such as Malawi not realize its developmental goals and eradicate poverty.
Poverty Architects
The Citizenry- One would ponder why the country is in this situation of dire poverty when it is filled with opportunities and an abundant resource base. The answer lies in the people themselves. Hence the first poverty architect in Malawi are the people themselves. The syndrome of over-dependency on government for subsistence has over-burdened the economy and has caused poverty. Subsidies on farm inputs (The farm subsidy program, FISP), building materials (Malata and Cement Subsidy) have not been effectively channeled to the masses, thus has caused over allocation of resources of the national budget to these programs on the expense of other developmental programs that would ensure economic growth in the long-run. People’s overreliance on free services such as hospital services, primary school education, handouts and other free amenities have caused people to lack creativity and innovations to deal with poverty related issues. This mind set has brought with it the inability of Malawians to be productive. As a country, Malawi doesn’t produce enough to sustain itself let alone enough quality goods to export to other countries and compete with the international market. The Economy is mainly supported by aid through grants or direct support, this has not given the citizenry an incentive to innovate and work towards attaining economic freedom. It can established that most poverty related problems are self-inflicted by Malawians themselves.
Leaders- It would be quite unfair to entirely blame it on the citizenry who after every 5 years induct frontline office bearers to run all affairs of the country including the economy. Unfortunately these elected leaders don’t fully account and deliver to the expectation of tax payers. In this case the main architects of Malawi’s poverty status would be its rulers and not necessarily the masses. Political elites, unscrupulous business tycoons and affiliates to the political elite continue to impoverish the nation. These political elites have massively mismanaged the already scarce resources and have failed to vehemently account for every kwacha spent on developmental programs, they have failed to openly govern the masses by embezzling funds meant for development into private accounts.
Above all, they have channeled funds meant for major investments aimed at uplifting the nation such as infrastructure, agriculture, energy and transportation into their personal accounts thus repelling potential investors from investing in Malawi. The political elite have failed to award public contracts to potential entities thus, have shun away competent companies from operating in the country. Nepotism and tribalism has been at the center stage thus causing divide among the citizenry. All these have tremendously derailed development and propelled poverty in the country. If Malawi continues on this trajectory, then the aspiration of achieving the agenda 2030 would be a fantasy. The sustainable development goals, a laid action plan for achieving sustainable development focuses on specific goals such as elimination of hunger and eradication of poverty requires a holistic approach in all endeavors. Political leaders need to embrace aspects of good governance. There is need of accountability and transparency of taxer payers’ money, equitable distribution of resources and long term investment and commitment of developmental needs if the country is to eradicate poverty in all its forms.
Leaders need to uphold the citizenry’s welfare at heart and ensure it’s their core agenda. Additionally, the citizenry have roles to play in eradicating poverty. Change of mindset is of prime importance, Malawians need to wake up from their slumber and hold the stirring wheel in development. SMEs and entrepreneurship have the potential to eradicate poverty. Commercialization of agriculture can increase the country’s net export while value addition, processing and manufacturing can reduce net imports thus substantially reading to an improved economy. The notion that “Malawi is not a poor county, rather poverty lies in the people’s mindset”, clearly outlines the need for all Malawians to innovate and work towards eliminating poverty. Achieving SDG 1 is possible with political will and strongly enhanced partnerships between the public and private sectors.