Government taking stock of a lot of campaign pledges made—Michael Usi

* Ndirande Township to access National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) loans in the next month of August

* Government is committed to see your businesses grow; therefore, I urge you to form groups

* So that when we start disbursing these loans no one should be left out and I must say that these loans are for all persons regardless of their political affiliation

By Lisa Lamya, MANA

Vice-President, Michael Usi said there are a lot of campaign pledges that were made by the Tonse Alliance and they “are taking stock of what has gone right and committed to improve on things that have not gone well”.

He said this yesterday during an engagement with business persons in the populous Ndirande Township where he reaffirmed government’s commitment to start disbursing National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) loans to them in the next month of August.

Usi emphasised that Malawi’s biggest problem is poverty and government is working tirelessly to address this problem so that its people can improve their livelihoods.

“The goal is to fight poverty so that we build a new Malawi,” he said after touring Ndirande’s main market where he also bought some food stuffs such as fresh fruits and vegetables from traders. “I believe, if we work together, this will be achieved.

“Government is committed to see your businesses grow; therefore, I urge you to form groups so that when we start disbursing these loans no one should be left out. I must say that these loans are for all persons regardless of their political affiliation.”

Usi, however, called on the custodians of the loans to ensure all deserving business persons access the loans and implored on those taking loans to ensure they pay back so that others can access them as well.

Chairperson for Ndirande market vendors, Chancy Chidoni asked government to consider improving infrastructure at the market and loans to the vendors, among other things.

“Let me take this opportunity to ask government to fix our roads here, this will ensure smooth operations of our businesses,” he said. “We want a youth centre so that our young people can socialise.”

Last Thursday, President Lazarus Chakwera launched the second phase of NEEF at a function held in Balaka District, presiding over the K100 billion loan disbursement milestone.

Chakwera said that one year into his term of office, he went in Parliament and disclosed that he has three things that he wants to do to turn Malawi’s economy around — “job creation, wealth creation and food security”.

“I am very glad to witness this function where NEEF has surpassed the target in cash disbursement to Malawians who have been in acute poverty,” he said. “I always feel bad to see people especially the youth in acute poverty, it is encouraging to see all these positive stories from beneficiaries of the K100 billion milestone that we are celebrating today.”

Chakwera, therefore, asked authorities to avoid prioritising their relations only to benefit from the programme, instead advised that consideration should go to all regardless of status so that the nation could move from poverty to prosperity.

NEEF Board chairperson, Jephta Mtema outlined the successful journey that NEEF has taken over the years and he attributed the success to collaboration from various stakeholders which include funding from shareholders, who he said have contributed K103 billion.

“We cannot talk of NEEF’s success without mentioning the clients who have been taking loans for business and repaying on time,” he said. “So far, we have 175,000 clients who in turn have recruited 350,000 Malawians creating the much needed jobs.”

Mtema, therefore, thanked the collaboration that NEEF has created with various partners such as the World Bank, Malawi University of Science & Technology (MUST), TEVETA as well as private financial institutions — NBS Bank, National Bank of Malawi and Standard Bank, who have helped in taking the organisation to greater heights.

“Although we have achieved this milestone, we also have faced serious challenges which include clients failing in entrepreneurship, political interference and corruption by company staff,” he said.

Member of Parliament for Balaka Central East, Bertha Ndebere called for inclusion of people with disabilities to access the NEEF services so that they are also uplifted and she also appealed to President Chakwera to consider rehabilitating the Chingeni-Liwonde Road which is in bad shape.—Reporting from Balaka by Mary Makhiringa, MANA; editing by Maravi Express