The Ministry of Defence has underscored the need to revise the country’s Defence Policy in order to address gaps in service delivery and improve planning in both the short and medium term.
The remarks were made on Friday in Lilongwe when officials from the ministry appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security, for the committe to familiarize their mandate with existing policy frameworks.
During the engagement, the ministry outlined key challenges it is facing, as well as plans aimed at improving service delivery.
Speaking during the meeting, Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Defence, Elvis Thodi, said revising the Defence Policy will help address a number of challenges and enhance the operational capacity of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF).
“There are quite a number of challenges that the ministry is facing, ranging from the inability to adequately support the Malawi Defence Force to delays in finalizing the Defence Policy. As a ministry, we will prioritize the review and finalization of this policy,” said Thodi.
He further revealed plans to formulate a Veterans Act aimed at improving the welfare of veteran soldiers, in recognition of the sacrifices they made while executing their duties and to ensure they are given priority support.
“As a ministry, there are several initiatives underway to address the welfare of veterans as a recognition of their sacrifices. These include developing comprehensive welfare programmes to help veterans sustain their livelihoods, including community reintegration,” he added.
In her remarks, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security, Monica Chang’anamuno, expressed satisfaction with the presentations made by stakeholders, saying that the committee intends to strengthen its oversight role by assessing the policies being implemented.
She also supported the proposals to spearhead the formulation and review of policies as presented by the stakeholders.
“As a committee, we were looking at their policy mandate, which is crucial to our oversight role. We will be following up on every step to ensure that what has been presented is implemented and, where necessary, amended,” said Chang’anamuno.
Throughout the week, the committee reviewed presentations from key stakeholders, including officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Homeland Security.
