President Peter Mutharika says the current political instability in the country threatens potential investors and has called on people triggering the situation to stop.
The country has been rocked in post electoral demonstrations in protest of the May, 2019 presidential election results in which Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declared Mutharika winner of the polls.
But some opposition leaders went to court to challenge the results saying the polls were marred by irregularities therefore should be declared null and void.
Despite the matter being in court, some people led by Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) have been staging demonstrations that in some instances turned violent.
Violent demonstrators have been destroying and looting both public and private property worth millions of kwacha.
To this effect, President Mutharika expressed the concern in London during a media briefing at the end of UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 and the UK-Malawi Investment Forum which he attended.
He said despite the country clinching business deals at the summit and the forum, political instability is an issue of concern to the investors.
Through the two events, Malawi has secured deals for investment in energy, agriculture, health and tourism, among others.
The Malawi leader said the clinched deals have to be safe guarded in order to move this country forward in investment opportunities.
“The path that some Malawians have taken is a dangerous one and will destroy the country and pull it back,” Mutharika said.
He appealed to Malawians of good will to take a deep breath and consider the impact of the current situation on investment in the country.
The Malawi leader has since assured investors of security saying Malawians are peace-loving and people of good will.
“If we can restore peace in our country, investors will be coming; if not, there will be some question marks and investors will be hesitant to come.
“They [investors] are not going to put their money in a place where there is chaos,” he said.
The President described both the summit and the forum as an important signal for interest in Africa by the UK.
He said as Britain will be out of the European Union this month end, it will be looking for new relationships with other countries including the Commonwealth.
In June this year, there will be a Commonwealth Heads of State and Government meeting in Kigali, Rwanda where, among others, the meeting will discuss restructuring of the relationship with Britain in light of Brexit.
Among other engagements while in the UK, Mutharika had a bilateral meeting with the Duke of Sussex His Royal Highness Prince Harry and participated in a debate on trade and investment.
He also had meetings with the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) where they discussed power projects in Malawi. The organisation is already funding Malawi solar project in Salima.
The president also met with the patron for UK-Malawi business group to set up a high-end pharmaceutical company in Malawi.
He also gave a public lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London.
Twenty-one countries from the five regions of Africa were invited to attend the investment summit which started on January 20 in London.
The summit was hosted by the Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson whereas the forum was chaired by Hogan Lovells partner and head of Africa, Andrew Skipper.
Hogan Lovells is a global law firm with an interest in Africa.
Source: Malawi News Agency.
