Guest Lecture with Prof. Wapulumuka Mulwafu

"Recurring Narratives: Development Discourse and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Colonial and Independent Malawi”

Lecture synopsis:

Despite the attainment of independence in 1964, Malawi’s economy has strikingly been shaped by structures which were created at the time of colonization in the late 19th century. Structural economic continuities were reflected in various sectors including commerce, production and labour migration. As in many other countries on the African continent, early settlers in Malawi established welfare societies, clubs and associations as critical public arenas for engagement with state authorities. This paper analyses the history of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in order to illustrate the ways in which European settlers sought to create space for political influence in the economic and social development of the country. As a predominantly white, male-dominated pressure group, the chamber initially served as an important forum for promoting the interests of the farming, transport and trading communities; it also provided resources for collection and dissemination of information to other settlers in remote areas of the country. However, as time went on the chamber transformed itself from a racially based institution of white settlers to a class-based arena of prominent Africans who have continuously shaped the discourse on the political and economic development of the country. In terms of gender composition, the Chamber has, throughout the period of its existence, remained largely unchanged, reflecting an exclusively male bias. The paper argues that through such institutions an elitist group of the incipient middle class has been able to exert a disproportionate amount of influence on state authorities on issues that concerned their welfare. The study is based on a review of primary sources in the form newspapers, as well as published and unpublished documents sourced from the National Archives of Malawi.