The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has challenged the private sector to create more opportunities for job creation and economic growth, as UNDP resident representative Shigeki Komatsubura said the private sector has a huge role to play in meeting the overarching challenge of poverty reduction and human development.

Speaking during the launch of the 2019 agribusiness window of the Malawi Innovation Challenge Fund (Micf), said the private sector has a huge role to play in meeting the overarching challenge of poverty reduction and human development.

Earlier this year, it was announced that sectoral minimum wage will be introduced to boost income for individuals under informal employment. The development is currently under consideration by the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) which will engage Government in the implementation of the development. MCTU secretary general Denis Kalekeni said that setting minimum wage depending on the sectors’ profitability could help uplift living standards for a lot of workers.

Meanwhile Malawi’s unemployment rate has constantly remained at 5.9% since 2014, reportstradingeconomics.com; the 5.9 being a drop from 6.1 in 2012.