Dr Chakwera the launch of the national tourism investment master plan
your excellency doctor Lazarus Maikafe Chekwera president of the Republic of Malawi. Your excellency madam Monica Chakoira first lady of the Republic of Malawi. Before we start our function this morning allow me to invite reverend Grecian Chiteokwe of the Zambezi Evangelical Church to lead us in prayer. Thank you
your excellency. Shall we pray? Our dear heavenly father, we want to thank you. As we gather in this room with hearts full of praise. When we look back at what you have done, in our lives today, giving us the grace to be alive today. Giving us the grace to be present in this room, to witness this auspicious occasion, we do not take that for granted And like King David said, that this is the day, that you have made, help us to rejoice and be glad, in this God-given day. Father
we thank you, for our country Malawi. Beautiful land that you have given us. Reach in every aspect. Rich, in its natural resources. We are grateful. And to be citizens of this nation, father God, we are happy for the privilege, because we know, being born Ma means we are stewards of his natural resources. And father we thank
you for that and we pray that you will help us to fulfil that mandate in the mighty name of Jesus. That is why I also pray for the president of this country. His his excellency. Doctor Lazarus McCarthy Chakwela. And her excellency
madam Monica Shakura. As the president reads Father God this country I pray for your wisdom to be upon him in the mighty name of Jesus. I pray for your spirit of revelation to be upon him. In Jesus mighty name because as he takes this country to another level of progress we want him to do it by your power, by your guidance, and by your grace. Father that is why we pray for your protection over him. In
all aspects. In the mighty name of Jesus. That no plan of the devil fashioned against him shall prosper. But that he shall continue lead according to your will. In the mighty name of Jesus. Thank you for the ministry of tourism. And
all departments therein. Thank you for the minister in charge. Father and the entire team we commit them into our hands. Thank you for their master plan that is being launched today.
This is a guide for the nation on how we are going to proceed. And we know there is development for this land. And father God we pray. And commit this plan into your hands in the mighty name of Jesus.
Because we understand as a nation in order to make progress, we do not want to move along. We want you to be by our side, you, guiding and leading the nation. And father God we attribute every success unto you. That is why father God we pray for this occasion that in every aspect you be here leading us in the mighty name of Jesus. And that this
plan Father God because your word says whatever we agree here on earth is also agreed up there in heaven. There will come a time when we shall look and say this was indeed a great time of success. And that glory goes to you alone because we know you'll be guiding us. It is in the precious and mighty name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. thank you very much reverend Chitewe for the opening prayer.
your excellency doctor Lazarus McCarthy Chekwela president of the Republic of Malawi Your excellency madam Monica Chokoira, first lady of the Republic of Malawi. Honorable doctor Michael Biswick Usi, minister of tourism, culture and wildlife and all cabinet and deputy ministers here present this morning. Mister Macmillan Anyao country manager for the African Development Bank. Your excellency Benedicto Martin Machiwa. High commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania and dean of the diplomatic core your excellencies, heads of mission, and all the members of the diplomatic core here present.
honorable Patrick Zebulon Chirondola, regional chairperson of the Malawi Congress party for the center. all the leaders and members of the Tonse Alliance here present Your worship counsellor Richard Banda, mayor of the city of Lironwe and all the councillors here present. Honorable Alfred Jia, member of parliament, city center constituency. paramount chief Kiwangu and all the traditional leaders here present. Reverend Grecian
Chitepe, officiating clergy and all religious leaders here present. Distinguished tourism stakeholders invited guests, ladies and gentlemen. Your excellency on behalf of the organizers of this event, the ministry of tourism, culture and wildlife. I would like to welcome you to the launch of the national tourism investment master plan. Under the theme unlocking Malawi's tourism potential for local and global market.
Your excellency, the government of Malawi has identified tourism development as one of the major drivers of the country's economy. Malawi's development blueprint, Malawi twenty 6-three, rightly acknowledges that Malawi has a rich diversity of unique, cultural and money-made resources that have not been fully utilised for tourism over the years. Your excellency, the launch of the master plan this morning, aims at improving tourism sectors contribution to the socio-economic growth and sustainable wealth creation by providing measures that address the boronics to the systematic development of the sector in line with the Malawi twenty sixty-three. Your excellency this morning will have performances, speeches, and a presentation on the Malawi National Tourism Investment Master Plan. let me welcome you once again to Bingo International Convention Centre here in Lironwe. A president ah to Majilu Mjijewa.
Now Mauno. Kazigita Ndondo Miko. Iminiji kulamala uri kaliru greets and shito. Kwam hardship and beauty. The group is now popular in Europe and the United States of America. And they have performed in many many countries. Your excellency
presenting to you Madalito Band. A round of applause as they come forward to make the first performance Thank you very much your excellency. A president had to remain indiguru, La Madarito band. master plan. Thank you your
excellency. your excellencies, the president, and the first lady All protocols observed. My name is Tamanda Kaleke. I'm a principal tourism officer in the Department of Tourism. And I was one of the officers who understudied the consultant during the development of the master plan. I've therefore
seen it from its inception to completion. And I'm proud your excellency to present what is contained in the master plan this morning to you. So, that's ah the outline of my presentation. I will introduce the Malawi tourism project. And
then I will go into what is contained in the master plan. And I will conclude with the key success factors your excellency. The tourism product in Malawi is based on natural resources as well as ah cultural resources. And ah it is bundled in five key product lines. Ah that we refer to as
ah you can see on the screen. We have the lake. We have the wildlife. The people and the culture. Ah the scenery and ah landscape. What's a mask? the
scenery and the landscape as well as ah the meetings and conventions segment. At the time we were developing their master plan. Ah we were bringing in as a sector five hundred and twenty three million US dollars. In terms of ah GDP contribution. And ah we
are bringing in nine hundred and thirty 2000 tourists. Out of these tourists sixty eight were visiting for business or work. And ah just about 30% were visiting for visiting friends and family. As well as ah holiday. Now coming into the
master plan your excellency. It is a 20 year tourism investment strategy. That seeks to provide direction for product development, manpower development, as well as ah an equitable tourism investment across the country. And it highlights national priority projects for implementation by government as well as ah the private sector. Ah the master plan was developed in a period of 30 months. And it's a act of key research as well as consultations and holidays by key stakeholders. Some of the
key reasons that led to the development of the master plan ah, ah, was a lack of readily available land for tourism development, which is still the case, at the moment, and ah, there was also incompatible land use, that led to haphazard tourism development. We can ah, witness that along the lake show for example. And ah, there was also, there is still inadequate support infrastructure and services for tourism ah this includes access roads as well as health systems. And again there was pressure arising from the population which is growing everyday, as well as ah, impacts brought about by the climate change. And ah, with these reasons, we felt it was necessary that we develop a plan that speaks to all these, as well as, ah, the national development. So in terms of ah,
partial planning, your excellency, ah, the plant ah develops ah the country into ten notes. And ah it uses the herb and spokesmodel like the wheel of ah bicycle. Where we have eh hub and ah the spokes that connect for the betterment of eh circulation of eh will itself. So I like to draw attention to the map that is on the screen. Ah the three red dots on the map are the three major cities of the country. And ah they dotted ah of ah lines represent the nodes that have been developed. All these
are benefiting from the regional hubs of the country. And ah it's a similar concept to that of eh secondary cities that ah we are developing the next ah few years your excellency. So out of the ten notes that I have ah that have been used. There were 103 projects that were recommended for tourism. And out of these
3103 projects 10 were isolated as priority projects. And I'm proud to report that we have previsibility reports that are ready for promotion your excellency. Ah taking you to the note your excellency. Ah we have three in the north, Three in the centre as well as four in the south. And ah the first
one is the Karonga Chitipa Node. That is up north. Ah you you will notice them by their dotted ah oval lines. That is circling them up. And as you can see they are all spread across the country meaning that there is an equitable spread of wealth in the country. The second one is the NECA living Sonia. Chiweta were not. And the third one is Lekoma Island, Shizumulu Island and Nkata Bay, Nzuzu North. Ah this third node
your excellency is ah is a special note in a way that it has two priority projects as ah maybe you may have noticed. And ah the central region has the Lilongwetalanyama mchinji north. Salima, Dowa, Kilkench and Lirongod. As well as the Nkota Kota, Kasungu, Chisinodi. Moving on the south, your excellency. Ah, we have the Nancumba Peninsula, North in Mangochi, Blantiya Cholo, Palombe Node, as well as the Zomba Marching Gabalaka Node and ah Moranji accommodation as well as ah man made attractions visitors that come into the country. Because at the moment
visitors do not have enough to do and by the of the fourth or fifth day. Ah they've seen the whole they've seen everything. They've done everything that they can do in this country.
Yet this country has a lot of potential. So ah that is why we are promoting man made attractions as well. And ah the master plan is also trying to promote infrastructure projects because we believe that without infrastructure then there is nothing much that we can do in terms of investment in the tourism sector. Ah taking you
to the priority projects I would like to introduce the criteria that was used. It was five fold. Ah the first one was the uniqueness of the project. And ah the second one was the potential that the project was bringing to that ah to that node through social economic benefits for the benefit of ah ah the local communities. And
ah the project was also developing on the an explored potential of the node so that it exposes what ah is contained in that node. Ah the fourth selection criteria was its alignment to the Malawi twenty sixty-three as well as ah the local council visions. And the fifth one and but not the last one was the potential of the project to increase leisure tourist numbers and revenue. Because we believe that ah through leisure market we will be able to bring in the required foreign exchange currency in the country. Uh I'll now take you through the ah priority projects that I ten. And we introduce the
facility and talk about the minimum capital expenditure for each project. The first one is the transit facility that is three three kilometres outside of Songwe border post. And we're expecting a minimum capital expenditure of eight eight million six hundred US dollars. second one is a mid
market resort in Rumppi. Ah with a capital expenditure of at a minimum of 5. 5 million US dollars. Ah the third one is the activity centre. In ah
Likoma Island. The minimum capital expenditure is one million US dollars. eh the next one is the waterfront development in Katape And ah this one is expected to cost a minimum of 16 million US dollars. Ah the next one is eh
tourism resort and houseport harbour in Kotakota. This one also is expected ah to we expect a total of 16 million US dollars as minimum investment. the integrated tourism facility in Salima your excellency is pegged at 4 three million US dollars as a minimum capital expenditure. And ah the golden sands in Kep Maclear ah is also picked at about 5 million US dollars your excellency. Moving down south we have the cable car resort on Mount Mulanji.
and ah because it is also ah intensive ah we expect that ah the minimum investment that we go in is $45 million US dollars. And then the last one of the ten is the river waterfront facility. Ah I just picked about just above $2. 5 million US dollars your excellency. Now in terms of implementation of the projects ah all these will be promoted by the Ministry of Tourism but will be led by the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre.
And ah Malawi's foreign missions abroad will support ah the promotion of this ah master plan projects. And ah they were either be ah financed by the public or private or partnership arrangements. Uh just to take you through the investment strategy for the master plan. We envisage that a total of $660 million US dollars will be needed to implement the master plan The project highlighted. And out of
these three hundred and sixty three million is going to go into infrastructure projects. Like roads, airports, waterways, health systems as well as ICT. coming to the impacts of the master plan Ah the first one is increased room capacity. Ah your excellency I would like to draw your attention to the graph that is on the screen. Ah where we have blue that shows the status of rooms. As at twenty eighteen. And ah the orange one what we envisaged to have at the end of the implementation period. And
ah at as at 2018 we had 19, 400 rooms. But out of 19, 400 rooms. Only two thousand 9 10 rooms were ready for international visitors. And still out of this two thousand 910 rooms only 200 rooms your excellency were ready for the leisure market. And ah that also represents or explains the reason why we only take up about one percent of all the tourists that come into the country. And ah after this ah master plan has been implemented we expect that the number of rooms is going to grow to 23 thousand three hundred and forty eight ah and then because focus is on the leisure market then we are also going to grow the rooms or capacity for the leisure market and then we will be able to attract tourists because as I said earlier we intend to increase the length of stay through this master plan. Apart
from this your excellency we envisaged an increased eh revenue generation to, to, the GDP, ah, with eh, 22, to, 2000, two and 28 million US dollars, just looking at the priority projects alone. I'm going to conclude your excellency by stating the some of the key success factors ah that are necessary for implementation of this master plan. And ah we have selected just three of them ah which are broken down in several ah items just to save on the time. Ah the first one is ah public sector reforms. And ah what we are looking at is ah review of the land compensation models. At the moment we have Akash based land compensation model. This
model your excellency frustrates the eh investment process. And eh we expect that if this model is reviewed to maybe non-cash based ah models we should be able to move fast in terms of ah ah investment in this country. The second one is the devolution of tourism to local councils. We believe that if ah local councils are capacitated they will be able to make decisions. Ah that level and then they will also be able to compete against one another ah thereby exposing the ah the the tourist product that we have as a country. And ah that will mean into more visitations to these attractions as well as more revenue for the country as well as ah ah the trickle down benefits to the communities. Ah
we are also looking at tourism mainstreaming across all sectors. Because tourism is a cross guarding industry. And ah Now at the moment all decisions that are made by the various ah MDAs your excellency do affect ah the operations of the tourism sector. So we are
looking forward to eh eh a reformed public sector where all policies are speaking to one another and all of them have into them the tourism component. Ah on the second one your excellency we are also looking at the support infrastructure ah that will include road networks, ICT, ah as well as the quality health systems. Because as you may agree with me ah noone would want to leave their country to visit ah a country that ah if something happens to them eh the country will not be able to take care of them. So such infrastructure systems are critical to the development of tourism in any other country. And ah the last one but not least your excellency on the key success factors and the last one ah point my presentation is improved access from source markets. Here your excellency would like to make mention that ah at the moment we do not have direct flights that are coming in from ah overseas markets. Our primary
markets are ah the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and ah ah the America, the the United States of America. As well as ah China. Ah we do not of direct flights as such ah it takes longer for ah University of Malawi dance troupe. Yeah it is now my singular honour to invite Mister Macmillan Anyanu country manager for African Development Bank to make a statement. Thank you your excellency. Apologies for that your excellency. We will get into
the third performance and that's the last performance for this morning. Your excellency Malawi's talent pool is enormous. Our next and last performer this morning is Lucent the violinist. His name is ah Lucind Shawa. A freelance music teacher Kum majored in violin and piano. He currently
works as a music director at the Lionwe Academy Orchestra. Presenting to you Lucent Shower. A big hander ladies and gentlemen. in Gamata Waru Swamiyo, Malawi, Zinala, KND, Lucinda, Kuma Loosened the violinist.
Thank you very much Lucent for that ah wonderful performance. I think he deserves another round of applause ah ladies and gentlemen. your excellency as you are aware the tourism investment master plan to be launched this morning has been developed by the Ministry of Tourism, culture and Wildlife. Allow me
now to invite the minister of tourism. Honorable Michael Biswick Usi to make a statement and thereafter invite you your excellency to officially launch the Malawi National tourism master plan. Thank you your excellency. president Lazarus Bakathi Chapoira. Malawi, Mai, Monica, Chakuira, Mariam Ose, Akari, Marumake, When a president Michael Bizwick Usi minister of tourism, culture, and wildlife and all the cabinet and deputy cabinet ministers here present. Doctor Janet Vander, SC, deputy secretary of the president and cabinet, and all the government officials here present, Your excellency Benedictto Martin Mashiba, High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania, and dean of the diplomatic core. Your
excellencies, heads of mission and all the members of the diplomatic core here present. honorable Patrick Zebon Chiondoa regional chairperson for the center and all the leaders and members of the alliance here present. your worship, Councilor Richard Banda, mayor of the city of Lilongwe and all the councilors here present. honorable Afro Gia, member of parliament for the Ongo City Center constituency and all members of parliament here present. paramo unt. Chief Kiyungu and
all the traditional leaders here present reverend Christian officiating clergy and all the religious leaders here present Distinguished tourism stakeholders. Invited guests. Ladies and gentlemen, on January 9th last year I launched the Malawi 2063 vision. which is the nation's long-term vision towards becoming an inclusively wealthy, self-reliant, industrialized, middle-income economy or country.
The launch happened virtually because of that time we were at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was claiming dozens of lives every day. Including prominent figures. In fact, On the day of that launch, two cabinet ministers were fighting for their lives and both succumbed to the coronavirus three days later. the pandemic is not something we should pretend did not happen. even though we know that there was a global pandemic when we went to the polls 21 months ago none of us had any idea just how devastating its impact would be. None of us knew how many
lives it would claim or how fast it would spread. Much less how much it would devastate livelihoods and incomes across the country. and it is without question that one of the sectors that suffered the greatest economic damage is tourism. the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with restrictions to protect public health has impacted the tourism sector negatively. Many establishments have had to contain with the cancellation of bookings for deferred travel. Many jobs in tourism and its associated sectors along the value chain have been lost. It is therefore a good
thing that my 26 to three prioritizes the development of tourism as a catalyst for realizing the country's economic development agenda. but a compelling vision without a plan is nothing more than a pipe dream and this is why the completion of this tourism master plan is a major milestone for our country. economic potential of our tourism industry is well recognized around the world and this should come as no surprise. Malawi is a country with great potential for safaris and holidays on account of such wonderful attractions as wildlife, beautiful beaches, a fresh water lake like no other, and mountains for days. It is therefore no wonder that just 5 months ago, Marie was named by Omni Planet as one of the top ten tourist destinations for the year twenty twenty-two. Having
passed the three criteria of sustainability, community, and diversity. located in a popular belt of tourist destinations. Malawi has untapped investment opportunities Offering unique and diverse tourism experiences which have not yet been explored. Our tourism base is offering a remarkable variety of unarmed rifle experiences in unspoiled and natural attractions that are its greatest assets. Although like Malawi dominates the country, Malawi is not a country of a singular experience. It is a
mixture of a massive, beautiful landscapes. fascinating wildlife diversity of and fauna, alluring rivers, and rich culture that combined to make this small country a wonderful place to visit. Furthermore, Malawi's compact geography allows tourists to cover multiple places within the shortest period. It's unique and exciting history outstanding objecture, and thriving culture due to its diverse tribes associated with migrations to this land. Make
it a must-visit place. A number of our tourism assets that stand out and are worthy of mansion include the unique sick leads of Lake Malawi. 3 fifty species of which are not found anywhere else. In the
world. Lake Malawi National Park as the world's first freshwater park and also a world heritage site. and Chimboni Rock Art which has the richest concentration of rock art in central Father, four of the country's traditional dances namely Gwewamkuru, Chopa, Vimbuza, and Minore. And food, including our
own Sima, have been inscribed on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. but we must turn that potential into real industry. and for that to happen, we must have a plan to execute.
executing that plan is how we turn our country's tourism potential into real opportunity for employment, for business, and foreign revenue. the need to place tourism as a key instrument in Africa's transformation and development was adopted at the third ordinary session of the African Union in July of twenty zero four in Addis Abba Ethiopia. Following its adoption by African tourism ministers in my Sechelles. I'm therefore delighted that today's meeting puts the tourism agenda at the head of the table. The benefits of doing so are many. The tourism sector contributes to the economic growth of Malaria's economy and supports a vibrant complex, valued chain across numerous sectors, including agriculture, trade, health, environment, and transport It generates foreign direct investment and significant exchange export earnings for our country. It
also stimulates and supports the development of small businesses including shops, restaurants, travel agents, tour operators, and guides, buses, and taxis. And the local markets. And because of the huge potential of this sector. Government is making strides in creating an enabling environment for the tourism sector to grow exponentially.
We do so to leverage the fact that Malawi has no history of political instability and the lowest crime rates in Africa. Which provide peaceful, secure and stable political climate for doing business. as a commitment to promoting foreign investment in the sector, my country also allows for 100% foreign ownership of companies.
Foreign investors can invest in any sector of the economy and can wholly remit their profits, dividends, and capital. Thus, foreign investors can disinvest 100 percent from Malawi whenever they desire to. Foreign creditors have the same rights as domestic creditors. I'm also delighted to highlight that the countries, the country offers free import duty, free import extras, VAT free importation on selected goods such as furniture and furnish, furnishings, catering equipment, and off-road games vehicles. These are some of the
physical incentives that have been deliberately put in place to promote investments in this sector and by far the greatest asset for our tourism is the warmth of the Malawian people. because of that warmth Malawi has often been raided as one of the most peaceful countries in Africa, defeating its enduring slogan, the warm heart of Africa, end of quote. Given all of this, we can look forward to the tourism base and tourism attractions of Malawi becoming a force to reckon with going forward. and now we have a plan Let's make it happen. Let's execute it with devotion and patriotism. Let's speak
well of our country in all the places we find ourselves. Because noone will desire to come here. If we ourselves talk as though we do not delight to be here.
It is Yamiga's manager with other departments. the Kudu and Kumarina amati yamikira everyone of you God bless Malawi. Our beautiful country. Thank you.
Is it going to 1 be? Is it going to 1 be? Now we have the plan. Let's make it happen. Thank you very much your excellency. The president of the Republic of Malawi, Doctor Lazarus Chakoira, for performing the official launch of the Malawi National Tourism Investment Master Plan twenty twenty-two, 2042. Your
excellency, we have now reached the climax of our function this morning. I will invite key stakeholders in the implementation of this project to come in front and receive copies of the tourism investment master plan. First, I will invite mister Paul Kwere who is the chief executive officer Malawi Investment Trade Centre.
first we'll have ah the carrying of the ribbon and thereafter the copies will be given to the key stakeholders. Thank you very much, your excellency. We now continue with our program this morning. Let me invite Mister Paul Kweenweri, the chief executive officer, Malawi Investment Trade Centre, to go in front and receive a copy of the Malawi National Tourism. Investment plan from his excellency, the president. And next, will be mister Patrick Abambe, chief executive officer, public private partnership commission.
Followed by mister Philip Madinga, the second vice president of the bankers association of Malawi and the chief executive officer for Standard Bank, to be followed by mister Boyd Lure, director, MCCCI, board of directors, he's also the managing director of Sidiko. And if we have a representative of the African Development Bank, please also come forward. And ah I would also like to invite in front Parliament Chief Kiyungu, representing traditional leaders and ah, all the communities.
And ah after handing over the copies to the key stakeholders I will invite all the key stakeholders to join his excellency for a group photograph. you very much your excellency. And all the key stakeholders. Thank you very much. President Atu.
Project Bankers Association of Malawi, MCCCI, Komanso, Paramount Chief Kiyungu, Dago Agwe, Nawonse, Amini Agrindi Tunchiro, Funiga Wambiri, Boniti Sanditudi, Zonse, Zime, Zakazik Sibuleo after his excellency the president doctor Alas Alas Chakwera and the first lady Monica Chekwera will take leave. Thank you your excellency. Guys, let's take a selfie. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Whoo. Get it. Get it. It's a video. We, the young, are not a complicated bunch. You see, we take each
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Soundcheck. Jets. girl I need my call on this or paper by overseas exit you try to push up a nice get trash yeah you try
2022-04-06 23:11
