The Bonet Framework

Overview

As Malawi prepares for another major election, the battle of ideas between political parties is just as essential as the vote. Both the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have released manifestos that explain how they want the country to flourish between 2025 and 2030. When you look closely, it’s evident that the MCP manifesto is better in terms of both its scope and ambition. The DPP manifesto offers some good ideas, but it doesn’t have the depth, breadth, or transformative vision that the MCP’s five-pillar approach has.

A defined plan and a goal for change

The MCP manifesto is different because it is based on five fundamental ideas: food security, job creation, wealth creation, service delivery, and governance reform. These pillars aren’t just phrases; they have concrete aims and programs that can be measured. The “Make Malawi Feed Malawi” initiative is an example of this. It intends to make Malawi self-sufficient in food by 2030 by adopting mega-farms and farming practices that are good for the environment.

The DPP manifesto, on the other hand, is more detailed. It proposes that each constituency should get K5 billion a year for development and K100 million a year for loans to young people. The strategy is basic, which is positive, but it doesn’t contain the macroeconomic and sector-wide policy planning needed to fix structural poverty and lack of development.

 Giving Everyone Economic Power

The MCP’s manifesto talks about the Ten-Ten Makwacha Youth Challenge, which will train 10,000 young people and give each of them K10 million to start a small business or an agriculture. This is supported by a proposal to develop the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) into a development bank that will assist women and young people in launching their own enterprises.

The DPP’s youth finance program, on the other hand, solely lends money to people who live in their own districts. It doesn’t incorporate the MCP’s ideas for institutional improvements or training programs. This means that DPP’s efforts to make the economy stronger are more about striking bargains than about making lasting changes.

Changes to how the government works and how people serve it

MCP has a brave and new method of running things. The Chakwera Masterplan is one example. It has 72 ideas for how to make services better in 24 different sectors. It also promises to appoint at least four cabinet members who are younger than 35 years old to make sure that younger people are involved in leadership. The purpose of these improvements is to make accountability, efficiency, and getting young people involved in public service.

The DPP, on the other hand, wants to be more fiscally responsible by advocating a smaller cabinet, slashing expenditures for state houses, and looking into VAT exemptions for public officials. These changes are good and needed, but they are more about saving money than making the system better.

Goals and Social Welfare

One of the most controversial and ambitious initiatives in the MCP platform is the K500,000 Child Investment Plan. It would offer every newborn a one-time financial gift to assist them in getting off to a good start in life. Some people are worried about how it will be paid for, but the purpose demonstrates that MCP is serious about radical social protection.

There aren’t any national-level social safety net measures in the DPP’s manifesto. Even though its adjustments to infrastructure and security, like deploying CCTV to modernise traffic enforcement and making it unlawful to give out on-the-spot penalties, are important moves, they don’t fix the root socioeconomic problems that most Malawians have.

Long-Term Development Alignment

The manifesto of the MCP is substantially similar to Malawi Vision 2063. The ATM+M strategy, which stands for Agriculture, Tourism, Mining, and Manufacturing, is how it plans to make money. This illustrates that the economy is changing in a way that looks to the future.

DPP’s manifesto doesn’t match up with long-term development ambitions, which could make it less in line with national and donor strategies.

 Last Thoughts

The DPP manifesto includes some good and sensible ideas about the economy, but it doesn’t have the same level of depth, inclusivity, and desire to change things as the MCP manifesto does. MCP’s five-pillar approach is risky, but it is a better plan for the future growth of Malawi. The MCP gives us a plan for the country’s rebirth, not merely for winning elections. It covers things like empowering young people, creating jobs, increasing wealth, and improving public services delivery.