Speaker Suleman engages businesses on legal reforms

Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman has rolled out a new engagement platform with the private sector, emphasising that closer collaboration between lawmakers and businesses is key to modernising Malawi’s legal framework and strengthen economic governance. The Speaker announced the initiative on Tuesday in Lilongwe during a meeting with business leaders, where he said the first formal engagement between Parliament and the private sector examined how laws and policies affect economic activity. “It’s the first time this is happening in the history of Malawi where Parliament has decided to go out and engage with the private sector,” said Suleman.

The initiative comes as lawmakers face growing pressure to review legislation that businesses argue no longer reflects the realities of a modern economy. Recently, the government clashed with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) over the introduction of the Electronic Invoicing System, an initiative designed to modernise reporting and revenue collection of value-added tax amid concerns that it would constrain business growth. Following consultations with the private sector, government relented and resolved to exempt companies with a turnover of less than K50 million and extended the roll out period to April 1.

Suleman said stronger engagement with industry players could help Parliament better understand how policies influence investment decisions, employment creation and enterprise growth. “We cannot have laws that were made in 1950 governing us until today,” he said. Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Daisy Kambalame welcomed the initiative, saying closer interaction between Parliament and the private sector can help to ensure that legislation reflects the practical realities businesses face.

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“Parliament is responsible for setting the laws of the country and those laws most of the time affect how businesses operate, the impact on business revenue, the ability for businesses to invest and also recruit people,” she said. Kambalame said the private sector lobby group has agreed with Parliament to explore structured mechanisms that would allow the private sector to provide data and evidence during parliamentary committee deliberations and legislative processes. “This formally creates an avenue where we can present data that can help Parliament make better and well-informed decisions that look at how we grow the private sector and the economy,” she said.

Kambalame described the engagement as an important step towards creating a more predictable and supportive policy environment for businesses. The engagement forms part of a broader programme of consultations that will also include meetings with principal secretaries and civil society organisations.

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