Allow me to congratulate
President Ashe on his election to preside over the
General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. Let me
assure him of my full support and cooperation and
that of my Government during his tenure of office. His
credentials and experience as a career diplomat here at
the United Nations assure us of a successful session.
It is indeed an honour for me to have the
opportunity to address the Assembly once again. In my
maiden address last year, I spoke of the challenges that
Malawi faced at the time that I assumed the office of
the President of the Republic of Malawi. I outlined my
Government’s commitment to addressing the political
and economic governance problems that I inherited. I
sought to achieve macroeconomic stability and restore
the rule of law and the observance of human rights.
The reforms my Government has undertaken have
been painful but necessary. I am therefore pleased to
report to the Assembly that Malawi is registering a strong
economic recovery. For instance, foreign exchange and
fuel are available, the currency has stabilized, inflation
is declining, and industrial production is up from 30 per
cent in 2012 to 75 per cent in 2013. Economic growth is
forecast at 5 per cent this year, up from 1.8 per cent last
year. Furthermore, Malawians are once again enjoying
their freedoms and civil liberties, as enshrined in the
Constitution.
I am pleased to say that Malawi, the “warm heart
of Africa”, is warm again, and my Government is
committed to staying the course with these reforms.
In moving forward, my agenda is to build on the
foundations we have laid in order to realize sustainable
and inclusive growth.
Today we are gathered here to reflect on the
progress made on the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) and to debate the post-2015 development
agenda. Before I provide my reflections, I would like
to commend the Secretary-General for his efforts to
ensure an inclusive global debate on the post-2015
development agenda. As I understand it, more than
750,000 people from 194 countries provided their
views, indicating their readiness for bold change. I am
pleased that Malawi was one of the countries selected
for the national consultations.
I believe that in Malawi and beyond, the MDGs have
played an important role in concentrating our efforts
around the common purpose of eradicating poverty.
They have raised public awareness about unacceptable
levels of poverty and helped to mobilize action towards
a fairer world.
At the same time, the MDGs have provided a
common framework for monitoring progress and
highlighting areas of achievement as well as challenges.
Yes, they have transformed the way in which both
developing and developed countries approach
development cooperation.
Malawi is on track to achieve four of the eight
MDGs: reducing child mortality, combating HIV
and AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring
environmental sustainability, and developing a
global partnership for development. However, like
other countries, we are unlikely to meet the Goals of
eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving
universal access to education, ensuring gender equality
and the empowerment of women, and improving
maternal health.
As the deadline for the MDGs draws closer,
Malawi is stepping up its efforts to accelerate their
attainment. We have identified best practices as well as
bottlenecks in the context of our progress. In particular,
we have understood that gender inequality and lack of
empowerment of women are the common constraints
limiting our progress towards the MDGs. In response,
my Government has developed a new MDG acceleration
framework that places significance on removing these
barriers once and for all.
In building the foundations for the post-2015
architecture, I want to reflect on the lessons from
Malawi’s experience in the implementation of the
MDGs.
First, I believe that the strength of the MDGs lies
in the fact that they are focused and targeted. That
has helped us to narrow our focus and concentrate our
efforts on the most critical issues while allowing local
ownership. In the case of Malawi, the MDGs were
localized through the Malawi Growth and Development
Strategy.
Secondly, the past 13 years have taught us about the
importance of the linkages between these Goals. A poor
family is not just economically deprived. It is also likely
to face a host of other challenges such as environmental
vulnerability, abuses of human rights and lack of or
limited access to essential services. Lifting people out
of poverty therefore requires a holistic approach.
Thirdly, strong political will and the transformation
of partnerships have accelerated the attainment of most
of the MDG targets. Finally, I wish to make a cautionary
note that we need to be aware of the fact that different
continents were at different stages of development
when we established the MDGs. That created pressure,
sometimes leading to unintended consequences. In the
case of Malawi and other countries, in our efforts to
achieve universal access to education, the quality of
education was compromised, yet access and quality
should not be separated.
We all recognize that the task of developing and
achieving consensus on the theme “The post-2015
development agenda: setting the stage” may not be an
easy one. However, we know a lot more today about
what works and what does not work than we did 13
years ago. We know that in order to achieve real and
lasting change, we must be committed. We know that
in order to inspire and motivate action, we must be bold
and ambitious. We know that in order to maximize our
resources and talents, we need smart partnerships.
The report of the High-level Panel of Eminent
Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
provides a strong foundation for a new framework.
I applaud in particular the overall vision of ending
extreme poverty by 2030. I also commend the focus
on, among other things, empowering girls and women,
creating jobs, sustainable livelihoods and equitable
growth and ensuring good governance and effective
institutions. I am aware that many people have argued
that the best strategy to achieve the MDGs is to realize
growth in the gross domestic product. However, I
am of the view that that idea is premised on a top-
down-approach. In my opinion, it is income for poor
households that must come first. The issues that affect
population growth — malnutrition, girls’ access to
education, maternal health — are all rooted in poverty
and, particularly, in a lack of income at the household
level. If we have to overcome those challenges, we need
to promote policies and programmes that bring decent
incomes into households.
In that regard, my Government has sought new
partnerships with the private sector, local communities
and development partners in order to deliver
development in more innovative ways. My Government
is focused on transforming rural economies and
breaking the vicious cycle of underdevelopment and
poverty. We have decided to invest in improving the
livelihoods of poor people in rural and urban areas.
That transformation initiative is aimed at modernizing
our rural communities by bringing a standard package
of interventions in health, education, water, sanitation
and housing.
The Government has also rolled out the Malawi
Rural Electrification Programme, which aims at
spurring industry, trade and agricultural productivity
through the provision of electricity. The Government is
also implementing a community saving and investment
programme to promote a culture of saving and building
assets to enhance income and wealth creation. I see
that leading to the majority of the poor being active
participants in our economy.
If we cannot uplift the people that live in rural
areas, as is the case in many developing countries, so
that they can earn a decent income in the household,
the vicious cycle of population growth, malnutrition,
maternal risks and poverty will remain. If the post-2015
development agenda is to realize its dream, we need to
go to the grass roots, where the people are.
For that reason, I welcome the idea that under
the post-2015 development agenda, we should track
progress against our goals by looking at them across all
levels of income. That will drive equal opportunities for
people across all income groups and help us realize our
dreams of shared prosperity. That is key to restoring the
dignity of all our people.
Finally, let me emphasize the need to attain global
peace and security. We are all aware that conflict,
instability and civil unrest disrupt our development
efforts. As we look forward to the post-2015 agenda,
we should recommit to global peace and security. As a
mother and grandmother, I felt compelled to make this
appeal.
Malawi will continue to engage fully in the post-
2015 development agenda. I am hopeful that the voice
of the poor, of women, of people with disabilities and
of the marginalized will be included in the agenda. I am
optimistic about a world of shared prosperity.