Public participation in the Malawi Privatisation Programme, 1996 - 2006

Abstract

Government’s aim for the inception of the privatisation programme in Malawi in 1996 among others was the hope that the privatisation programme would have a catalyst effect in causing the public to participate in the economy. The implementation of the privatisation programme was considered to be a platform from which this would be achieved. This was the case as the country was coming from a historical background characterised of government ownership of economic resources, operation of State Owned Enterprises, and a very small private sector. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of public participation in the privatisation programme in Malawi, from its inception in 1996 to 2006. The study also investigated the role of the programme in stock market development during the same period. The study’s main objective, therefore, was to ascertain the public’s participation in the programme, this was particularly in the context of the expressed fears among the public that they were not participating in the programme as compared to the level of their foreign counterparts due to the particular challenges posed by the business environment. The study adopted a multi-method research approach compromising qualitative and quantitative approaches. This involved an extensive study of relevant literature, use of semi-structured indepth interviews and respondent-administered questionnaires. The study also used the stratified and simple random techniques and purposive judgemental sampling technique. The study population was drawn from individuals working in the public, private and Non- Governmental Organisation Sectors. The study finds that the Malawi privatisation programme had limited success in achieving the stated objective of increasing and expanding the public’s participation in the economy through ownership of privatised enterprises. That is precisely due to its practical failures in sufficiently developing and capacitating an informed public about the programme. On the other hand the privatisation programme resulted in an increase in the number of listed companies, market liquidity and capitalisation of the stock market. To this end, the study’s main recommendation for its greater success and effectiveness is for a review of the programme’s implementation methodologies that reflects mechanisms that effectively address these performance gaps and the public’s business capacity and behavioural challenges. At the core of this response is facilitating a broader socio-economic base of public participation in the privatisation programme.