Someone has taken note of Mangochi... finally!

It took decades but it has finally happened. Mangochi has been elevated from a district to a town by President Joyce Banda, a step aimed at making the lakeshore town a bustling tourist city. I recently argued that former president Mutharika’s priority of Nsanje as a city may not have been a well thought out one.

Malawihas for the past few years been talking about finding an alternative foreign exchange earner to tobacco and tourism has been top of those alternatives. However there was very little work on the ground to show that efforts were being made to grow that industry. Many tourism facilities are not really up to international standard but not because that there has not been some sort of effort. In the past decade or so the road network has been greatly improved as has the recent hotel grading seen an improvement in lodging facilities. There have also been efforts by the Department of Tourism to market the country albeit not at the same level of quality as our neighbours. There is a lot more that has to be done however and I think this declaration is a first positive sign.

It is my hope that government will throw as much money and effort towards upgrading Mangochi, maybe even more, as it did towards Nsanje to make the district and town world class. Perhaps sooner rather than later the area will be a gateway to the other tourist attractions Malawi has to offer and at the same time attract the much needed investment and visitors the country needs to boost its ever dwindling foreign exchange reserves.