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The Privatisation Policy of Malawi aims essentially to help facilitate measures and policies aimed at strengthening the role of the private sector in the economy. The objectives of privatisation in Malawi include, among others, the need to improve the efficiency in the delivery of public services by creating opportunities for greater private sector participation in the economy. The Government intends to achieve this by transforming the role of Government from that of provider and regulator to that of facilitator in order to attain its developmental goals in partnership with the private sector. To this end, the involvement of the private sector in public services provision through a Public Private Partnership method falls within privatisation.
In the statement made on 25 January, 2005, by His Excellency the State President on the occasion of the high level conference on privatisation, he announced that Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) would be used extensively as a form of procuring and financing infrastructure projects and services in the public sector. This will help to ensure sustainable investment in infrastructure and services as well as to restor soundness in public finances and bring down the budget deficit to a sustainable level. To achieve this goal, Government is expected to create a conducive environment to encourage and attract the private sector investors to play a greater role in procuring and financing infrastructure projects and services through PPPs inline with other countries which are competing for similar investment. Any PPP initiative undertaken without creating a conducive environment for investing in PPP projects could result in a low uptake rate and perhaps with very high perceived risks, both of which can be detrimental to investor confidence. The PC has, under a cooperation agreement with the SADC Banking Association in South Africa, been implementing a capacity building initiative in Malawi to enhance the knowledge and capability of key public sector officials in the development and implementation of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). This led to the legal and regulatory review of Malawi from PPP perspective and a series of awareness raising and training sessions. DEVELOPMENT OF A PPP PROGRAMME FOR MALAWI Malawi has established a PPP national steering committee comprising several Government stakeholders to champion the official PPP activities leading to the development of a proper framework. The committe is made up of Ministry of Economic Planning and Development as the Chairman, The PC as Secretariat and the following members: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade and Private Sector Development, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Information and Tourism, Office of the President and Cabinet, Office of the Director of Public Procurement, Malawi Investment Promotion Agency and Ministry of Transport and Public Works. A draft national PPP policy is being prepared for review by Cabinet. The Policy will indicate that Government supports PPP and encourages the use of PPP for the development of infrastructure, and for the improvement of service delivery, to enhance the quality of life for Malawians. In the meantime work is also proceeding on the definition of a legal and institutional framework for PPPs in Malawi POTENTIAL PPP PROJECTS - Shire Zambezi Waterway and its accompanying sub-projects
- Mtwara and Nacala Development corridors and their accompanying sub-projects
- Kapichira power plant
- Cape Maclear tourism development
- New terminal at Chileka Airport
- Rehabilitation and refurbishment of terminal, runways etc at Kamuzu International Airport
- New water source for Blantyre Water Board
- Strategic fuel reserves in Liwonde, and oil pipeline from Nacala/Beira
- Lake Malawi ports
- Railway line either new or expanding/improving the existing line to improve the cargo turn around time
- Industrial forests
- New prison facilities in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu
- New national sports arena in Lilongwe
- Hospital in Lilongwe and other health facilities
- Toll road connecting Limbe and Blantyre
- Development of city parks (zoos, amusement facilities), in Blantyre and Lilongwe
- Management and development of game parks
- International convention/conference centre in Lilongwe
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