Malawi’s National Planning Commission (NPC) produced its Malawi 2063 vision document in a braille version.
The document was officially given to Malawi Union for the Blind (MUB) by NPC Director General, Dr. Thomas Munthali, together with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malawi — which partnered with NPC in the production, printing and distribution of the braille version.
In his remarks, MUB president Moses Yohane said they happily received the document, which “without any doubt will be read, meditated and understood” by all citizens with vision disabilities in order to contribute to its execution.
“This has not been taken for granted because we are going to study it with positive minds taking cognizance of the good plans the government has for the nation in the years to come,” he said.
MUB executive director, Ezekiel Kumwenda, said there are over 700,000 Malawians with vision disabilities, making it the largest group of people with physical disabilities in the country.
He applauded NPC for including MUB in the formulisation process of the MW2063, which was officially launched by President Lazarus Chakwera on January 19, 2021.
“What NPC and the UNDP Malawi have done is to emphasize that vision impairment should not be a barrier in order to contribute towards the development of this country.”
He said people with vision disabilities tend not to take part in most development programmes simply due to lack of accessible information.
“Now we don’t have an excuse and we are going to study this document in order to positively contribute towards its implementation,” he said.
Economic Advisor at UNDP Malawi, Wilmot Reeves, said the development arm of the UN system is very happy to have been part of the formulation of the MW2063 as well making the document available to every section of the country.
He also applauded NPC for giving an opportunity to people with vision disabilities to be part and parcel of the whole process, saying lack of information hinders critical stakeholders from making critical contributions towards the development of the country.
He pledged that UNDP Malawi is committed and “stands to provide relevant support towards the implementation of the MW2063.”
Director General Munthali said NPC is now working to finalize the formulation of the first 10-year implementation plan to actualize the MW2063 vision.
He also said they have embarked on a campaign to popularize the Vision because “its success lies in a multi-stakeholder approach that will mobilise different constituencies — including vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities — to understand and rally behind the Vision.
“Malawi 2063’s vision statement is ‘Inclusive Wealth Creation and Self Reliance’ and we believe that inclusivity should include making sure that every citizen in the country is reached with information about the Vision and ensure they are a part of its implementation and success.”
“This is why we are saying we are leaving no one behind by making sure that even our fellow citizens — who cannot read normal text of the document due to sight challenges — are able to read the Vision and take part in its implementation.”
The NPC is a government agency charged with the mandate of coordinating the formulation of long-and medium-term national development plans for the country and overseeing their implementation through an Act of Parliament of 2017.
