2010; is Malawi ready...

I must say that either the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has been overhyped out of all proportions or Malawi just doesn't see HOW to exploit this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I am sure every sensible person will agree with me that the country which stands to benefit the most from this event is the host country itself; South Africa and boy have they grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Everyone who has been to Mzansi as they fondly call themselves will agre that the country has made very significant progress in so many areas. Their infrastructure which was already light years ahead of our own has been improved beyond our imagination. It is amazing to note that some of this work was commenced even before the country was given the responsibility to host the games. The anticipation is actually palpable, I mean the entire economy is totally geared to cash in on 2010.

What surprised me the most was when I went to Nairobi to hear how much Kenya has invested in preparation for the 2010 spectacle. This got me thinking about my own land of flames which is only 2 hours away from Johannesburg whether you land in Blantyre or Lilongwe...

For some reason we have all looked up to government or the football association to lead the way in marketing the country. And credit should be given, the government has done it's bit...mind you, the bottom line for Govt. is not profit, and this is very well reflected in the quality of their effort.

Everybody thinks that inorder to sell Malawi in relation to 2010 one needs to do that in the context of football and this is the biggest problem. It is also not enough to simply talk about the lake and mountains because not all tourists are eco - tourists and frankly speaking, a lot of countries have their own mountains and lakes. I for one believe that pitching Malawi simply on history and geographical features is an old fashioned approach and also boring (there is a lot more this country has to offer than just history and geography) Infact other countries like Egypt, Greece, Italy and Israel have more interesting histories than Malawi.

I have serious issues with the private sector who have miserably failed to cash in on the fact that we are so close to South Africa let alone initiatives like the Lake of Stars festival and events like the Madonna adoptions. At least government has tried to improve infrastructure, but I don't know where the private sector is...

Everyone is so focused on scrambling for the small Malawian market when the big bucks are really out there...