By Rosalia Kapiri

Lilongwe, July 10, Mana: The 2023-2024 MIP-1 annual progress report on Malawi 2063 has revealed that interventions that are either on track or have completed currently stands at 44 percent up from 20 percent in 2022 with 13 percent of the interventions are either not started or no proof of commencement was provided, down from 21 percent in 2022.

Presenting the Malawi 2063 annual progress report in Lilongwe on Wednesday National Planning Commission (NPC) Director General, Dr. Thomas Munthali, highlighted areas of effort acceleration in implementation being agriculture, industrialization, mining, good health, quality education, clean water and environmental sectors.

"In agriculture there is a lot of improvement as more of irrigation farming is happening as well as efforts being done in environmental sustainability. However, we have a challenge on economic infrastructure. There is a lot that is happening in Information Communication Technology, transportation and energy although the sectors are lacking against the targets that they have but there are good efforts made," said Munthali.

Munthali asked for collaborative efforts from both state and non state actors to work closely with those that are in economic infrastructure states to accelerate the areas which are lacking.

He has appealed to all Malawians and institutions to ask themselves they are doing to help achieve Malawi 2063.

NPC Board Chairperson, Prof. Richard Mkandawire, said the progress report is meant to provide a platform to accelerate successes achieved so far and trouble shoot areas which are lacking.

He said: "Time waits for no one, we need to act now. It is for this reason that NPC is committed to work with all players to achieve Malawi 2063. NPC does not implement rather collaborates with state and non state actors to ensure that plans are implemented effectively and timely.

"Coordinated efforts towards a common milestone is essential, without which we risk missing years of implementation. We have a chance to accelerate what is working and improve where we are not doing better."

The report also highlighted issues of corrosive impacts of corruption, lack of accountability, unsustainable debt which affects prioritization and implementation capacity as some of the main challenges to meeting the MIP-1 milestones.

The Malawi 2063, which is the successor to the Vision 2020, was launched in January, 2021 and articulates three pillars and seven enablers that anchor its aspiration of an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation.

The progress report was presented under the theme: 'Moving together towards achieving the middle-income status and meeting most of the Sustainable Development Goals'.