Malawi Finance minister ducks questions on Kwacha depreciation
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Simplex Chithyola Banda has come under intense fire for refusing to take questions on Monday in Lilongwe during a press conference on the Kwacha depreciation.
He called for the press conference to, among others, explain measures the government has put in place to cushion people from the shocks of the the recent 44% devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha.
However, after reading a statement, Chithyola Banda, who was accompanied by minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, minister of Local government, Sports, Culture and Unity just left the press conference venue without taking questions.
Kunkuyu later said his office would call for another press conference where Chithyola Banda would take questions.
However, this has angered Malawians who said Chithyola Banda would have just issued a statement which he read to the media or send a VN than waste time for a press conference where he knew he would not take questions.
Malawians expressed reservations soon after his appointment that he is not fit for the job because he does not have economics qualifications and his academic qualifications are questionable.
During the press conference, Chithyola Banda said the devaluation was a necessary step to take if the Malawi economy is to be put back on the right track.
He said before the recent devaluation, the Malawi Kwacha was not trailing on its real market value a thing which brought some negatives on the country’s economy.
The minister said the overvalued kwacha was hurting the local production of goods and services as people found it cheaper to import things than buy locally produced goods and services, a thing which leads to long-term results of killing local production.
He added the overvalued kwacha was scaring away foreign direct investors, as investors started to shun Malawi as an investment destination because no one would want to spend dollars in an economy that undervalues them.
The minister also said the overvalued kwacha was promoting the growth of a criminal and illegal black market, and there was a risk of collusion between the black market and some corrupt bankers. He said if such would be sustained the legitimate businesses could only access forex by buying it from criminals.
Chithyola Banda said with the recent realignment, Malawi is expected to enhance its productivity, trade and investment.
He outlined measures which government has put in place to cushion Malawians from the effects of the recent 44% devaluation.
Chithyola Banda said government is with Malawians now and will not allow them to suffer.
Coming to cushioning mechanisms, the Minister of Finance said 184, 920 families from the district which were affected by Tropical Cyclone Freddy will receive K50,000 a month for three months. He added that 105,000 financially challenged families in cities will receive K150,000.
The finance minister said government has also revised the number of beneficiaries for the social cash transfer initiative from 2 million to 3 million.
As another means of cushioning the citizens through employment opportunities, Chithyola Banda said government will provide such opportunities by among others employ 2, 741 health workers and exporting 5000 Malawians as labour to outside countries.
He also announced that government had revised upwards, the number of Climate Smart Public Works Program beneficiaries from 3000 to 5000 and their wages and number of working days have also been revised upwards.
Meanwhile, Chithyola Banda has said government is consulting with employers and their bodies on salary increments to cushion employees from the effects of devaluation.
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