The Ministry of Trade recently consulted the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPD) Authority on the implementation of the 60/40 law which states that 60% procurement by the government, must be awarded to locally-owned black indigenous businesses while the remaining 40 percent is given to foreign owned.

While the PPD Act was passed three years ago, it has never been practically implemented, as it was also revealed that out of K648 billion government procurement in the 2019/20 National Budget allocations, indigenous companies were awarded only 15%.

Last year, the Asian community felt that the law sidelines them as indigenous Malawians. The community presented their grievances to the Parliamentary Committee on Industry Trade and Tourism, represented by Rafiq Hajat, who outlined that there is segregation in terms of indigenous Malawians and non-indigenous Malawians. “There are all kinds of limitations that apply if you are deemed to be a non-indigenous Malawian now my family came here in 1870 a 150 years ago, I was born at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in 1955 now you tell me what is the difference between you and me.” he said.