MUTHARIKA TOUTS RURAL GROWTH, ESTABLISHES DONOR

UNCLAS LILONGWE 001114 SIPDIS MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION SENSITIVE NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PINR MI SUBJECT: MUTHARIKA TOUTS RURAL GROWTH, ESTABLISHES DONOR DIALOGUE ¶1. Summary: President Mutharika summoned heads of mission to thank them for their support and to air his views on key policies. He discussed his plans for rural poverty alleviation, the GOM's move to Lilongwe, and promised to have regular meetings with donors to establish a policy dialogue. End summary. ¶2. President Mutharika convened the heads of diplomatic missions and donor organizations, along with most of his cabinet, on December 6 to thank donors for supporting his administration during its first six months in office. Mutharika observed that the GOM is now "back on track" with donors after the difficulties created by the previous administration. He promised to keep public expenditure under control and vowed that the GOM will "not slide back, but will move forward." ¶3. Mutharika wants Malawi "to shift from being a consuming country to a producing country, creating wealth and creating employment." He said the key to economic transformation lies in empowering the rural poor, and he observed that lack of capital and lack of training are what keep rural people economically depressed. To address this integrated rural development, he promised to revive a dormant GOM policy of creating "rural growth centers" that would enjoy all of the services that cities have, in terms of roads, electricity, water, telecoms, banks, etc. He said that this would encourage people to stay on the land and stimulate the growth of regional areas. ¶4. The president commented on the difficulties of implementing his two current rural poverty initiatives, the "Targeted Input Program" (TIP) to deliver seed and fertilizer packages to poor families, and a broader fertilizer subsidy program. The TIP rollout has been delayed, he said, because of the logistical challenge of packaging and distributing 62 million kilos of fertilizer and seed in small packages. He cited problems with transport, but promised that he had now mobilized the Malawi Army to complete the distribution. On the fertilizer subsidy, he attempted to clarify confusion about the program, saying that it was intended only for those who could not afford fertilizer, and that the GOM did not wish to distort the commercial market. ¶5. Turning to his other major topic, the move of the GOM to Lilongwe, Mutharika stated that he would be moving into the New State House "as soon as possible." He denied media claims that he was spending lavishly to renovate the building, and said that his staff had only done cleaning and repairs and were moving the old furniture from the former Blantyre residence to save money. He promised to continue to share the building with Parliament temporarily, but he was emphatic that Parliament must find a new permanent home. With that, he asked donors to contribute to the construction of a new Parliament building. ¶6. The president then opened the floor for questions and comments, to which several of representatives responded. Most thanked him for the information and the opportunity for dialogue. A few cautioned him about the need to communicate policies clearly, for example on the role of Parliament in Malawi's young democratic system, and in the setting of publicly announced targets for development projects. ¶7. Finally, Mutharika expressed his desire to meet regularly, perhaps quarterly, with the diplomatic/donor heads, in order to establish a policy dialogue. With that, he adjourned the meeting and invited the group for tea and further informal discussions. ¶8. Comment: If instituted as advertised, this forum will provide a useful vehicle to communicate donor concerns directly to the head of state. Donor reps had suggested to the new GOM as early as August this year that such a forum be established. In conversation with the Charge after the meeting, the president expressed his wish that the regular sessions be used to discuss policy issues in-depth, and said that he hopes for an honest dialogue where donors will give him feedback. He mentioned that for the same reason, he had enthusiastically enlisted Malawi in the African Peer Review Mechanism, in order to get honest assessments of the country's policies. GILMOUR