Chakwera urges Illovo to invest more in Malawi

President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday met the group chief executive officer of Illovo Sugar South Africa, Gavin Dalgleish, with an appeal for the sugar manufacturer to invest more in Malawi.

Chakwera met Dalgleaish on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The discussion between the Malawi leader and the Illovo top boss focused on Illovo’s plans for future investments to diversify its portfolio in Malawi by taking advantage of the country’s agro-industrialization drive currently being promoted by the government as part of strategies to realize Malawi 2063 vision.

On his part, Dalgleish thanked the Malawi leader for ensuring progress on the development of the Shire Transformation Project.

He said; “compared to other irrigation projects under development across Africa, Malawi’s ambitious approach is the one that has the greatest promise of being a transgenerational agricultural and economic game-changer that makes Malawi a regional leader in commercial production and a global model in the achievement of sustainable food security.”

He therefore commended the Illovo Africa Group CEO for his commitment to push for direct engagement between the public and the private sector describing this as the basis for tracking progress on the synergy between public sector economic policies and private sector practices that foster the kind of growth that creates jobs and wealth for Malawians.

Meanwhile President Chakwera has reiterated his Administration’s firmness to commercialize, mechanize, and industrialize Malawi’s agricultural production.

Chakwera further commented Dalgleish for his commitment to ensure that Illovo uses the enabling laws of Malawi to expand its footprint in the economy of Malawi.

Illovo is the largest sugar manufacturer with a vast sugar estates in Chikwawa and Nkhota-kota.