The decision by the Government of Malawi to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan have proved to be costly. It has lead to the total abandonment of a fertilizer factory project, that could have contributed to affordable fertilizers, and the Government is losing out on the economic gains.

By Dingaan Mithi

The Government opted to switch to diplomatic relations with Mainland China, and ditched Taiwan in the process. A recent visit to the fertilizer project site reveals a quiet and abandoned structure with no signs of workers on it.

“Politics of diplomacy have to be reformed, the foreign policies of Malawi should attract foreign investment and not deter it” says Mabvuto Bamusi, a foreign policy expert and executive director of Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC).

Bamusi further called upon the Government of Malawi to reconsider starting the fertilizer factory, by attracting other foreign investors.

He also lamented that the country would have not been losing out on the economic gains if the fertilizer factory was in full operation. A local farmers’ rights activist, Calvin Kamchacha says that Malawi could have cut on the transportation costs of fertilizer by 40 percent, if the factory was working.

He added that it could have benefited the locals with employment opportunities, including enabling farmers to buy fertilizers at cheaper prices.

“Agriculture is the main employer, the abandonment of that project even makes our gross domestic product (GDP) to go down, if Government is serious in cutting down on donor dependency, then it should continue with the factory project”, he observes.

Malawi requires some 500,000 metric tones per year to meet its fertilizer needs; fertilizer continues to be highly expensive, with a 50 kilogram bag going at a maximum price of 20 US Dollars.

Why China?
It seems that the switch in relationship comes with good reasons, at least when it comes to the position of the government. The People’s Republic of China is constructing three multi-million-dollar structures that would completely change the face of Malawi’s capital. Through its Export-Import Bank, they have also pledged to provide a loan of 65 million U.S. dollars (443,788,000 Yuan) to Malawi towards the construction of a 40,000-seat modern national stadium in the capital.

An additional loan of 92.3 million US dollars has been granted for the construction of a modern International Conference Centre and a five star hotel alongside it. And already a state-of-the-art parliament building costing 40 million US dollars has been finished and is occupied by the national assembly.

The decision to dump the diplomatic relations with Taiwan comes after a 40-year-old relationship dating back to the era of the first head of State the late Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda.