EDITORIAL | The Forum
President Peter Mutharika’s return to State House has a different feel. This time, there’s less politics and more purpose. There’s a quiet urgency to get the right people in place. The Forum calls it Mutharika 2.0: more focused, more deliberate, and aware that the country’s problems can no longer wait.
His choice of George Partridge to head the new Ministry of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism fits that mold. Partridge, a seasoned banker and former CEO, reported for duty just two days after being sworn in and set a tone of performance over procedure.
He told senior staff in Lilongwe that Malawians expect results, not promises, and that the ministry must adopt a results-based culture with measurable goals tied to the national vision of Malawi 2063. In short: the time for paperwork is over and that it’s delivery that counts.
Partridge outlined four top priorities namely food, forex, fuel, and fertilizer. The “4Fs”, he said, must anchor what the ministry does. His message was simple: if Malawi gets these right, growth will follow.
After reviewing a management presentation, Partridge praised the planning efforts but questioned why much of it wasn’t visible in real life. He urged staff to think differently, act faster, and support the private sector as a driver of jobs and exports.
Mutharika’s decision to appoint Partridge goes back to an encounter in 2018, when the latter spoke at a COMESA meeting in London about regional economic integration. The president said he was impressed by Partridge’s understanding of trade and industry and believed that the same perspective could now help stabilize the economy, particularly on the forex front.
The ministry Partridge leads combines four powerful engines of growth into one portfolio. If managed well, the merger could eliminate overlap, boost coordination, and bring new energy to sectors that have long underperformed.
If Partridge delivers on the 4Fs, Malawi might finally see the shift from talk to tangible progress. For an economy that has spent years in survival mode, this new broom may indeed be sweeping in the right direction.
