Chikaonda tells Kaliati to stop badmouthing
CEO for conglomerate Press Corporation, Mathews Chikaonda, who once served as Finance Minister has hit back at garrulous Minister of Information Patricia Kaliati, saying she should guard against her foul-mouth.
Kaliati lashed at Chikaonda for his criticism of President Bingu wa Mutharika’s economic performance, accusing Chikaonda of failing when he was the country’s purse keeper.
But Chikaonda has shot back at Kaliati, saying she “should do herself a favour and learn to guard her language, especially in areas where she has very little knowledge.”
Added Chikaonda: “I need to give Mrs Kaliati free advice to carefully reflect on these words.”
Chikaonda told a two-day meeting of Public Affairs Committee, that the government should devalue the local currency, the kwacha, saying that the official rate of 165 per dollar is overvalued compared with the black-market rate of 300.
Malawi devalued the kwacha by 10 percent on August 8.
“Good economics makes good politics not the other way round,” Chikaonda told the conference.
He also hit at government for over taxing people to finance the Zero-Deficit Budget.
Chikaonda urged government to listen to multilateral institutions like World Bank and IMF and “take right economic dosage at the right time.”
“If you move by a small dosage you will not heal. Medicine must be taken as prescribed by the doctor. You can take pain killers but you won’t get cured,” he said.
The country is facing a political and economic crisis after some donors withheld aid last year after a crackdown by the government against protesters amid calls for changes to economic policy to end fuel and foreign-currency shortages.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
