President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi has made a u-turn on the one million jobs he promised Malawians while campaigning for office.
Chakwera who marked a 100 days in office on Monday said his administration can only employ 200,000 people.
He explained that the government could not create jobs on its own and needed the private sector’s help.
He said every entrepreneur needed to employ more people.
The one million campaign promise was a major talking point for the Tonse Alliance that was elected in a rerun presidential poll.
Critics have told local media that the alliance had no job creation plan and was just using it as a campaign strategy.
65-year-old Chakwera, who is also the East African country’s Minister of Defence, presented an audit of the first 100 days in office in the capital, Lilongwe.
The secretary to the cabinet, Zangazanga Chikhosi, outlined the initiatives approved by the cabinet to ease the cost of production for farmers.
Vice-President Saulos Chilima said the new administration is in the process of reforming public service to ensure improved service delivery.
He vowed to unite the country and fight poverty during his inauguration in June.
Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party historically defeated incumbent Peter Mutharika with 58.57% of votes in a rerun election on 23 June 2020.
In February, Malawi’s constitutional court annulled Mr Mutharika’s poll win of May 2019, citing vote tampering.
The country was bitterly divided in the run-up to this week’s election. But Mr Chakwera said those who did not support him had nothing to fear.
Chakwera, a Pentecostal preacher and former theology lecturer, said his role would be to unite and serve Malawians.