Minister of Labour Yunus Mussa’s warning to foreign investors who are exploiting indigenous workers should obviously have promised some light at the end of the tunnel for the indigenous workers, and above all, most if not all Malawians who are aware of the kind of exploitation that local Malawians undergo at the hands of the foreign investors.
His observation that some foreigners who are issued with Trade and Temporary Employment Permits (TEPs) come into the country as investors, only to up end being traders, is also timely.
But this is just the inception of a long and big task and the real fact hinges on what step the ministry is going to take next, now that the observations have been made.
In Malawi, we have been very much used to mere rhetorical speeches by the authorities and the trend has become a moral axiom, such that even if the speeches seldom translate into fruition, everything appears to be taken as normal. Threats are issued, memorandums of understanding signed, yet afterwards, no tangible change is seen on the ground.
It is an inevitable fact that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s first and primary priority is to steer this country out of the jaws of poverty to prosperity. He has repeated this now and then and in his capacity as the leader of this country, he has put into place calculated measures that will help him realize his dream; a dream that is supposed to be shared by all Malawians.
Any country’s success stems from the fact that its citizens are living comfortable lives so that they help in the development of their country as a whole. The citizens also need to live lives that are free from disease.
The president has always made certain that Malawians are not exploited by anyone in whatever way, yet from facts, this appears to be mere rhetorical speech which but appears to be taken seriously by some authorities as envisaged from what Mussa has done.
Mutharika has not hesitated to chase away cash crop buyers who want to exploit poor farmers who work tirelessly on their fields just to earn some little bucks. The president’s desire has always been that farmers and, of course, all Malawians in different occupations should reap what they deserve instead of some fellows capitalizing on something that they never toiled for.
It is clear that Malawi is one country whose bilateral connections with other countries are so strong that foreigners can easily enter into the country and start operating any kind of business they desire.
However, this is not the case in most African countries, where most of them have defined businesses that may be done by foreigners while some other businesses are reserved for the natives.
For example, in Ghana, foreigners are not allowed to operate small-scale businesses at the expense of locals. But this is so prevalent in Malawi such that locals succumb to the pressure and finally give up. Hence, they fail to develop their lives in their own country.
Foreigners have reached the point of even operating small businesses like restaurants and small retail shops whose capital cannot even exceed K50, 000. This is so sad! I must be understood here; I do not intend to mean that foreigners should not be allowed to operate businesses in Malawi.
All I mean is that they should perhaps deal in big businesses which will bring forex into the country; for what does the nation benefit from foreign traders operating restaurants in the suburban areas of our country?
These are businesses that are supposed to be operated by locals, but when these foreigners come onto the scene, they tramp over the locals to such an extent that the locals fail to cope with the pressure and finally just give up.
For the improvement of their lives, native Malawians need to be given the first priority as far as the welfare of their lives is concerned. Lives of Malawians cannot improve if they are not allowed to have a chance of operating small-scale businesses in their own country.
After all, government has always been committed to giving locals loans under the Malawi Rural Development Fund (Mardef) so that local Malawians should engage in small-scale businesses for the betterment of their lives. The natives fail to prosper in the small-scale businesses because they compete against foreigners who import cheaper goods from their home countries.
It is not my aim to precipitate hatred between Malawians and foreigners, but rather to truly assess a very crucial, yet delicate issue, that is neglected by many. Many people, including government, know what local Malawians in small-scale businesses go through, but they deliberately ignore everything, while they have the power to act.
Let us face facts here: what should Malawians trade in if the small-scale businesses are being done by foreigners? One would expect the foreigners only to trade in big businesses like wholesale shops, manufacturing industries and to be contractors, just to mention a few.
Government can do something about the increasing number of foreigners operating small businesses in this country because this is exploitation just wearing a new face. The fight against poverty cannot be successful unless native Malawians who should develop this country have a chance of operating small-scale businesses.
This is an issue that needs to be confronted and examined with a sober mind; otherwise, we will wake to a rude awakening one day to find that no Malawians can be found operating any kind of business in their own country.
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