Finance minister Sosten Gwengwe is in Washington DC, US for meetings with IMF officials to convince them restart extended credit facility (ECF).
Malawi is currently under IMF’s rapid credit facility but Gwengwe is upbeat the country will graduate to ECF mid this year.
Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe
Meanwhile, Gwengwe on Monday engaged India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a quest to restructure the country’s debt, currently seen at K7.9 trillion.
The two ministers met on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring meetings currently underway in the US Capital, Washington DC.
Malawi owes India about $114 million.
In related development, fiscal authorities are hinting on a policy review of both inflation stability and economic recovery in the new fiscal year.
A Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Market Intelligence Report for February cites devastating floods that have worsened inflation and the general economic outlook owing to serious damage to crops and infrastructure.
This is happening at a time economic analysts are calling for a swift review of fundamental assumptions including GDP growth and annual inflation to make the 2023/2024 budget realistic.
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS)-based economic analyst, Betchani Tchereni, backs the RBM’s reasoning saying it is inevitable.
