Malawi face Christmas of discontent: Finance Minister Goodall admits economic turmoil, 2017 forecast misty
Malawians are facing a Christmas of discontent as they have to battle it out for survival since the cost of life for November was much higher than October, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has conceded.
Centre for Social Concern says the basket needs, an average cost of life, has gone up in the last month.
The faith-based economic advocacy group says in November, a family of six would need K172, 000 from K166, 000. The centre says this is very expensive for ordinary Malawians.
Gondwe said the year 2016 has been tough for both citizens and government as the cost of living soared on the back of falling real incomes amid persistently high inflation rates.
The country’s purse keeper said Malawi’s economic turmoil has also been worsened by donors who he said had not “lived up to their promise to provide aid through their own means” to Malawi.
“Although donors promised to help the country through their own means there are still many gaps in as far as their funding is concerned. I hope that the donor community, while they may not give us direct budget support [DBS], they will provide ad hoc support, and this support will be increased,” he said.
This comes at a time when the economy is still in shambles, with the inflation rate hovering at 19.9 percent.
Reserve Bank governor Charles Chuka has said the government expected the inflation rate to be in single digits by now and conceded the economy is still in bad shape.
He told President Peter Mutharika that if the state of the economy remains the same for a certain period, the bank will issue a new bank note after the K200 new note comes into circulation on Monday.
Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) president Henry Kachaje said government must take necessary steps to revive the ailing economy, saying private sector, touted as the engine of the economy has been hard hit.
“It looks like the engine has been knocked down and has ceased, so some repairs need to be done.”
One of the country’s most vocal NGOs, Centre for Development for People (Cedep) has accused the DPP administration of pushing the blame of the current economic situation on other factors rather than coming up with strategies that can take Malawi out of the mess. He describes the purchase of a K100 million vehicle for the President as wastage of State resources.
“Our kwacha continues to depreciate against major [trading] currencies and our purchasing power has been greatly eroded. Yet the DPP led government under the so called visionary and dynamic leadership of President Mutharika has either buried its head in the sand like an ostrich thinking the problems will disappear on their own or are living in denial.
“He [Mutharika] has not told Malawians the Government solutions and action plans with clear benchmarks to end these many problems. What he has done is to distance himself from these problems and remain silent,” Cedep said in a statement
Meanwhile, Gondwe failed to put a brave face to the media if government will anchor the economy in 2017 , saying it lies on how the rains will fall.
“It will be difficult to tell you how the status of our economy will be in the year 2017. This is because I don’t know whether the country will experience enough rainfall,” said Gondwe.
“If the rain will fall as it has started and according to the prediction of the meteorological department then, our economy will be in good condition and if not then it will be worse,” he added.
Gondwe described the 2016 financial status of the country as disaster.
He said this was because of the climate change which resulted into floods and dry spell.
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S0 long as we strongly believe in tribalism as we do now,picking on the Northerners,Malawi will never ever progress because the country belongs to all of us.It would be foolhardy to import an engineer from foreign land and pay him or her in foreign currency while the same position can be handled by a Malawian from the North if the government cant get one from the Central or Southern Malawi.Brothers and sisters,we are committing our own suicide that we all see now.There is no single tribe or ethnic group that would develop Malawi on its own,we can see this today,we are stack with the uneducated Lomwes.If Northerners are sidelined,why does the government still rely on G.Gondwe to handle its finances? What hypocry? Gondwe is now in his mid-80s,for how long will he continue to hold the crucial potifolio? It is strange that when Malawians were fighting for indipendence,there were no these words as Tumbukas or Northerners,why now? The country now is engulfed by corruption never seen in the continent of Africa and yet,the Northerners are sidelined from leadership positions since after the famous Cabinet crisis in 1964 to-date.In this position,Malawians must not cheat themselves that development would come to Malawi by miracles.DPP is living in a cacoon of self-deceiption which is destroying our country beyond repairs.Malawians must riseup in masses to defend their independence and self-respect,Muthalika and his surrogates have nothing to loose,they have fat Bank Accounts in foreign lands.WAKEUP MALAWIANS,PETER AND HIS THIEF BROTHER BINGU DID NOT FIGHT FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF OUR COUNTRY AND YET,THEY ARE THE ONES WHO BENEFITTED FROM OUR SWEAT!!!!!!!!!
Advice to goodle gondwe,,,,,you can see that to fix a zero aid economy is not easy in a poor country like Malawi,,,,, as a minister of economic planning, know that Malawians don’t even know what you have planned for them for next 10year as we can see you don’t even know what the economy will be in 2017…..whether you answering as a politician to say you don’t know about Malawian economy next year or you gave your response as an economist……,iam sorry I can’t call you an economist, cause if you were you could give a projections of how Malawian economy will perform next year and probably next five years, I don’t know how APM trust you head such a critical ministry,it seems you don’t even know your job ,,,,,,you don’t advice your boss what is lucky for a country to grow…,am sorry goodle, you must differentiate what is interesting people and what is in the peoples enterest…… What is interesting people now is to see you as a minister who is running failing policies and how you are running this ministry, regardless of whether you succeed or not,,,,, ………,,however what is in the people’s interest is to see you and your boss fixing Malawian economy, giving hope to citizens as you were doing with late Dr bingu wamuthalika,,,,,,,,,,to make Malawi a hunger free nation, to achieve a single digit inflation, high economic growth,better university education, well financed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,…… Predictable economic growth, stable currency. Please if you are an expert ,,,how come you associate yourself with continuously failing ministry. You constructively resign and give the ministry to able people,,,,, you are fooling our lawyerAPM that things will materialise.Malawians will be happy even if it means hiring a foreigner who is an able finance minister.
We need to have a focused, visionary, selfless leadership..,… , aleadership with determination…,… That have action plan to change our economic activities ,to diversify economic activities for vibrant and profitable ones, to transform the mind set of all Malawians….so that Malawians should invest in a large scale farming with total mind of entrepreneurship,……. Government should not implement agriculture as a campaign tool for election,,,, as this is encouraging junk programs such as fisp, …,which only encourages raziness amongst Malawians, as many only yield a handful of crops just for consumption…, within two months they have no food.,,,,,,,,,, you can’t fix Malawian economy without determining and defining its parameters on the ground.,,,,,,,,,first of all ….,accept that Malawian economy is agrobased economy,,,,,,,,no government can talk about fixing Malawian economic without putting in place viable agricultural policies,,,,,,,, policies that will empower Malawian famers produce crops and livestocks for both consumption and export…its simple,,, government should put farmers into cooperative societies,,,,,,, or associations,,,,,farmers should be educated in morden farming methods such as mechanised agriculture, ànd agribusiness management, so that in their groups they can be given loans…..not fisp, or give subsidised agricultural in puts to large scale farmers , and be able to identify markets both locally and internationally, let us also make point clear that infrastructure should be put in place for agriculture to practiced throughout the year,,,,,,, gone are the days when goodle gondwe should be forecasting economic performance based on rain fed agriculture, done only for four months,,,,,,,,government should help in mechanised agriculture and irrigation farming for economic prosperity to rise. Lastly our agricultural policies should also favour development of agro-based industries both multinational and local industries……. Reduced taxes on all agricultural industrial development activities so that even foreign companies should come and invest in Malawian agriculture sectors…….. Eg tractor and all farm machinery can be imported duty free..etc. Lastly curb corruption,,, why corruption in agricultural sector and all sectors. Don’t put too much obstacles on farmers or investors. Give incentives to those interested in agricultural industries. Boost energy for smooth running of agro processing industries and various farm machines such as water pumps………leadership that moves its people out of poverty….,is the one to be admired in Malawi and even Engels and god cannot mistake about ….., such leadeshíp, amen, god bless Malawi.
will mw ever have good economy..?evry time goodall is owez complaining……in @015 he claimed 2016 is gona b a yr to smile,,,,,,,nd now he peddles foward 2 2017……..rilly?……nde tixiti chakwera anama?
Heard clearly from old man Goodall. But just for a positive remedy, let voluntarily those in cabinet resign or retire so that you should not die out of stress 2017. Things have ran out of hands and no excuses that could give hope to vulnerable marginalized citizens. Goodall be the first one.
It’s strange that APM is unwilling to try new blood in the ministry of finance.
I can understand the sentimental value of keeping Gondwe and Tchuka in their positions; but the cost is huge.
Under normal circumstances the entire economic team should have been replaced. Gondwe can remain minister in, say, local govt; if only for sentimental value.
Goddal is testifying that malawi is a failed state
Full of nosense presentation.malawi can regain its economy on the right path.komano dyela la atsogoleri anuwo.this country shall/will be like this for good.umbuli wautsogoleri wabwino is the main factor
In Malawi, we have brilliant economists like Prof. Chikaonda, Henry Kachaje, and many more whom Peter can choose from. Why clinging to a spent force like Gonndwe
If Chikawonda and Kachaje is what malawians believe to be brilliant, then indeed there is no hope for Malawi
The biggest problem in Malawi at the moment is that we are ruled by people who have seem to possess false, irrational and fixed beliefs (delusions) that things are well and as government they are trying everything possible to fix the situation. And that it is them only AND THEM ONLY who have the wisdom or monopoly of knowledge to get Malawi out of the predicament. Everyone else is a failure, doesn’t wish dpp well, etc. TYPICAL DELUSION.
But the painful truth in the world is that if your best is not good enough for what you are trying to achieve then just ACCEPT you do not HAVE (possess) what it takes to ACCOMPLISHING that particular task. If it is sport, college degree, career, etc, then JUST change for the other or you will be FRUSTRATED in life.
DPP like some people is the southern region should stop this false belief that they are the best the country can offer to the world. If anything they have actually proven to the contrary the past 20yrs. It is on record we are the POOREST country on earth. Having had the opportunity to do one’s school or work abroad is NOT a precise measure of one’s ability or brilliance. We have a lot of intelligent but uneducated people in villages in Malawi. The only crime they committed is that they didn’t have the same opportunities like some of us.
A clear example of a natural achiever is the current Mayor of the City of Blantyre. It is very clear to see what he has achieved and continues to achieve within a short period of time and resource constraints. The face of Blantyre has changed. Not endless excuses and justifications we constantly get from dpp government. They are just failures or cursed by a supernatural power in away that no lack comes their way hence the country is plunged into dire and unprecedented socioeconomic nightmares.
Our cost of living will continue to rise if we dont resolve this electricity problem as most businesses are now using generators. It will also increase if we don’t increase local production especially agricultural production through irrigation and improved farming methods. Encourage local manufacturing especially on local basic needs and descourage imports on these. Local manufacturing should be given support( soft loans, subsidies on imports of raw material) including training if these companies are local.
Mr Gondwe, take note that we Malawians are a nation that endures suffering and we have developed such a character and all we need from you is to instill hope in us so that we can define our destiny.
at least if gondwe had this script to show the world am tired of this Animal called DPP these guys are all failures
Goodall is a Technocrat and makes honest statements. Our economy is in shambles but it’s sad that your DPP colleagues think otherwise, they deny this fact. This is the time Malawi Policticians should check their appetite on spending. Please austerity measures should start from the president himself and trickle down but alas my sleeping President is not a leader i don’t see any skills in the leadership to turnaround our economy. Malawi a sorry state
We need to significantly reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture. But this will require a massive change in political will and massive investment. We can start by reducing funding of FISP, and putting that money into large-scale irrigated farms. It is possible. It can be done. But it requires a political will. Alas, we also need to curb our propensity to steal 🙁