THOUGHTS ON THE ECONOMY

As the World Health organization(WHO) continues intensifying its anti smoking campaign, disastrous economic effects are being felt in countries like Malawi whose economy heavily relies on tobacco. While the government has been steadfast in assuring Malawians that the crop can still be a viable source of income for both individual households and the country, events at the auction floors paint a gloomy picture which is hardly inspiring.


The government might be dismissing as false alarms assertions by the media that the resolutions at The Framework on Tobacco Control Convention on 10th November 2010 pose serious challenges to the countries major foreign currency earner, the low prices at the auction floors perhaps reflect the falling demand for burley tobacco which unfortunately we are the biggest producer. This could be a vindication to the media claims and as such as a country we need to quickly look for alternatives.

One such alternative in my view could be tourism, which for many years, has shown the potential to replace tobacco as a major foreign exchange earner. While tourism may not be able to provide the country up to 70% of the needed forex, it still has the potential to produce between 40 to 60% of the country’s foreign currency. It is on such basis that I believe that with proper management and marketing of our country, we should be able to cover the gap being left by tobacco by switching to tourism.

While there are other potential areas which we can consider as replacements for tobacco, most of such alternatives may not be as sustainable as tourism. Take mining for instance; with the discovery of a considerable amount of mineral deposits in the country, one might be tempted to think that mining can replace tobacco. While this might be true, one need not to ignore the fact that mines usually have a specific time in which they operate and would as such with time lose this potency. Tourism on the other hand, does not have a specified time frame. With proper management results and places of attraction may continue to attract visitors for many years.

Secondly, while other alternatives could be viable, they would require a very heavy investment and may take time to materialize. At the current state, Malawi needs to quickly adjust to an alternative which might produce within the shortest period time. Given the low level investment and the fact that with globalization it is quite easy to market some products, tourism quickly fits in as the most quickly available solution to the tobacco woes.

The fact that Malawi has never experienced war or any serious political instability plus the great scenic beauty that our country has, should make its marketing quite an easy job. There are also a lot of facts about Malawi which are already known but could just be strengthened to build a more compelling brand that we could market. Take for example the about 1000 cichlid species in lake Malawi out of which close to 95% are unique to the lake and the abundant bird life and the fauna that the country has. If all these were combined in one brand, tourism should be able to contribute more than the 11% of GDP it currently contributes.

Malawi simply requires to ensure that it has a better road network to places that are potential tourist attraction sites. The country simply requires a good marketing strategy that would help portray a true picture as a rewarding tourist destination. The country simply needs to provide adequate tourist information and ensure that the persistent fuel shortages affecting the country are dealt with.

Ensuring a better infrastructure and provision of adequate tourist information would greatly help make the country a known and popular destination for tourists. However, that alone would not be enough if we fail to position ourselves to reap the fruits of such investments. The government and the private sector would be required to also make sure that service provision is up to the mark. Companies like Air Malawi and others in the hospitality industry, would require to be strengthened to ensure that they take full advantage of the gains such an investment is likely to bring.