Opening statement by Hon. Ken Edward Kandodo minister of finance of the Republic of Malawi: Lilongwe, Malawi, 25 March 2010

Abstract

Opening Statement by Hon. Ken Edward Kandodo Minister of Finance of the Republic of Malawi at the Meeting of the Committee of Experts of the 3rd Joint Annual Meetings of the AU Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and the ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Hon. Kandodo, on his remarks highlighted that, the underlying premise is that robust and sustainable growth rates deliver significant employment gains, which accrue mostly to the poor. The link between economic growth, employment creation and poverty reduction has taken centre stage with the recent impressive, but jobless growth episodes witnessed in much of the continent. The key challenges remain that growth has been both not sufficiently high relative to Africa’s development goals and highly vulnerable to external shocks. For decades African production and exports have depended excessively on the primary commodities with extremely limited value addition. To achieve the integrated approach between growth and employment and the policies for poverty reduction would require a sustainable development strategy that transforms the fruits of economic growth into tangible improvements in the quality of life of our people.