Mutharika says Joyce Banda left ‘tattered economy’: Tells New African magazine his achievements 4 years as Malawi leader
Malawin President Peter Mutharika has told London-based New African magazine that he inherited a “tattered and bankrupt economy” four years ago from his predecessor, Joyce Banda and he has been engaged in repairing the damage, saying so far he is leading the nation on a path of sustainable growth.
Mutharika who is seeking a second five-year term in next year;s watershed elections, said he expects to get a “landslide victory” that will give his government “themandate to finish all the work we are putting in place for Malawi to exce.”
In an interview with Zambian journalist reGina Jane Jere during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London recently which has been published in the latest June edition, Mutharika prides himself for reversing many of the economic woes and is setting Malawi to better horizons.
“My government came into power just after the former President’s [Joyce Banda] cashgate. When we came in, there was absolutely no money. The country was literally bankrupt. The deficit the previous government left was as huge as the national budget; the arrears were in billions, both local and international. To top it all, donors who were providing 40% of our budget left us,” Mutharika said in quotes reported by New African magazine.
Mutharika said he prioritised fixing a ‘tattered economy’ and winning back donor confidence, but noted that this has been compounded further by natural calamities that beset the country as soon as he took office.
“Just after six months in office, we had the worst floods Malawi has ever experienced. A third of the country was completely swept away, and we had to divert the little resources we had to rebuilding the affected regions, and resettling people.
“But as if that was not enough,” he reflects, “a year later we had famine – the worst ever in the country’s history – and it ran for two consecutive years. We became completely food-insecure, and we had to find ways of feeding over 4.5m people who were food-insecure,” he laments in the interview.
“I promised people in those difficult times that nobody was going to die of hunger. We worked extremely hard and we managed to contain the famine, and now this year, things are much better, although we may still have a deficit of maybe 30%,” he adds as the magazine quotes him.
According to Mutharika, when he took power from Joyce Banda, he found only one month’s worth of import cover – the lowest in the history of Malawi.
“Now we have six months of import cover, the highest in history. We now have over $1bn in reserve – $600m official reserves and $400m private.”
He pointed out that inflation, which had been running at 37%, has now been beaten down to single digit of only 7.8%; interest rates of about 40% have been brought down to 16% policy rate and about 21% commercial rate.
“Of course I would still like these figures to go further down, that is the aim. But we are still much better off than where we began. And during this time, the kwacha has been stable for over two years, and I have not raised the price of petrol for two years too – something that has never happened before.”
Mutharika told the magazine that his administration had set targets on how to rebuild the economy.
“One of the major decisions I took was to cut down on spending: one way to do so was to cut back on ministers travelling abroad for meetings. I myself do not travel; the last time I did [before the CHOGM] was to attend the UN General Assembly in New York last September.
“I also decided to have a lean Cabinet – reducing it from a Cabinet of 30-40 people to only 18 ministers, 20 if you include the President and Vice-President. By doing so we have managed to save large amounts.”
He expands on the subject: “Even unnecessary internal travel has been cut back. For example, if I am visiting a project, not everyone has to travel with me, unless they are a line minister. For example if I am launching an agriculture project, only the Minister of Agriculture has to come, we do not need the Minister of Labour to come too, or the Minister of Foreign Affairs or Education.
“Through these cut-backs and prudent spending, we have managed to finance our budget ourselves. This year for example, 90% of our budget is being funded from our own domestic resources. We are not getting donor support to fund our budget.”
He says the economy has now stabilised, and is beginning to grow.
“When we came in, it was growing at 2.7%, and although we still have to have the final figures, this year the economy is expected to grow at around 4 to 5.5%,” he says. “I am hoping that in a year or two, we should be able to grow at 7 to 7.5%. So yes, the economy is beginning to improve and this has taken discipline and a strict and tight monetary policy. The opposition of course may not agree, but the truth of the matter is that these are facts, and we can prove them.”
New African report states that the prudent fiscal measures appear to have also warmed the hearts of the donor community, who have since returned to Malawi. In April, the IMF approved a new three-year Extended Credit Facility for Malawi to the tune of $112.3m.
The Fund’s Deputy Managing Director, Tao Zhang has given Malawi the thumbs up, but with a note of caution: “Malawi has shown progress in achieving macroeconomic stabilisation following two years of drought, with a rebound in growth and inflation reduced to single digits… However, the fiscal position has deteriorated and the public debt to GDP ratio has risen…The authorities are [however] making efforts to entrench macroeconomic stability, raise growth and reduce poverty.”
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The author of the article should visit Malawi to get first hand information on the economic status of the country.
JB ngati anaba mukuchedwa kumanga bwanji?dzaka zinayi opanda umboni?
Chilima will also tell us Peter Munthalika left tattered economy
tattered econom y left by your brother bingu… 250 billion cahsgate exposed nthawi ya jb…shame on you!chaka chamawa mwatilira
tattered economy that afford ur USA trips with awhole lot of entourage. Escom MRA and Macra funding your party. Yes sustainable path my foot! When u done milking this poor nation I guess your fly back to your country USA huh
Only an idiot can believe what you are saying.. Joyce Banda was only in power for 24 months and she inherited nothing from your brother, the country was at a standstill no fuel nothing was moving even sugar eas scarce. When she can to power things started moving until castigate scandal.. There were so many good things that she managed to do she does not get credit for. The country is not better now.
I agree with you. JB changed so many things. It is just that APM hates JB.
Joyce Banda laid the foundation. Show some respect to the ex-presidient. if it were not for Joyce Banda, malawi could be rich under DPP burt only a few Malawians could have benefitted. Now we know to identify thieves and you steal but with caution. Exchange rate mwaayigwila, what is it that Malawi is trading that has brought foreign exchange, is it the exorbitant misonkho through MRA. You are stealing from people actually. tikumalipila msonkho on imported items as if katundu akupanga ndi a DPP.kuposa mtengo wogulila kunjako. check the DSTV explorer at 210,000 when in SA it is at 70,000. thief ndiwe osati JB. Musiye mama amwe tea wakhe mtima uli mmalo.
Bwana Muntharika leaving JB pambali, uve made the economy worse than ever, so worse ever
The self-delusional world of DPP gurus is really baffling. Please do not distort facts.
The dire economic situation APM had inherited in fact started during Bingu’s 2nd term (K570 billion was cashgated & todate remains unaccounted. A DPP angositha ma figures.
If anything JB had at least managed to turn around basic social services which had unprecedentedly gotten worse just before Bingu’s death. The truth is our economy had been in shambles because donors could no longer trust funding this DPP government full of corruption-addicted individuals. As if wanting to vindicate donors’ suspicions the MAIZEGATE was out again.
SHAME on thieves!!!
Joyce Banda left a ‘tattered economy’, but yours is a ‘messed up economy’.
Any economics based on ‘cooked up figures’ that does not trickled down to the masses is useless.
nthano chabe izi. Ife tikuvutika
Like others, you too will leave the country in tatters, for the the next governing party to sort out from 2024. It will be a never ending story which ordinary Malawi have no capacity to grasp so they will keep voting for mediocre political leaders and mediocre political parties. The level of development in any country is measured by the calibre of its political leaders. Malawi is the 3rd poorest country in the world. You go figure!
koma nkhalamba iyi ndiyomvetsa chisoni kwambiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
You deserve another term of office, APM. You have my vote.
Tosser!
The economy was good during the time of Joyce Banda, she manage to woe donors confidence unlike you.
Which donors? They came and devalued our Kwacha and high inflation set in and living costs shot up and people were suffering. Well, if JB did well, why was she voted out then. Why didn’t the donors help her?
JB wasnt voted out. Dpp stole the vote, just the same as it is preparing to steal next year. ONLY that we have ignorant and timid Malawians to uprise for better electoral reforms
She was voted out because anabekedwa chinyau cha cashgate. They had 577 billion cash gate on their back but were telling Malawians to vote her out because of 20 billion she inherited from DPP government system. She did the needful to Malawians. I recommend her. BUT these corrupt and rotten leaders started on the word go that the 577billion was audit querry really? Now without shame on their face akuti anathana ndi cashgate Malawi was better in the hands of JB period! CASHGATE,MAIZEGATE, MSBGATE, ADMARCGATE, BLUEGATE,BEAMGATE…….., My Malawi !
True
The inflation,,import cover, Kwacha stabilization and lending rates that are being talked about does not have any positive impact on the rural masses who are wallowing in abject poverty.All of you who listen to these come and see how Malawians are suffering and how public finances being rooted by these rulers.Whatever is being said by our leaders are only political gimmicks to gain votes and once elected the rooting with their cronies, tribesmen relatives friends continues.
Multiparty effects. Parties are largely supported by those closest to the leadership. It is not surprising that the winning team benefits the more. If you want to reverse this trend then you need to change the political system of this country. Otherwise, Kulira kulipobe ndithu!
Bongire, it seems you do not know how the economy works. Unless you stabilise these fundamentals, the economy cannot improve and the poor people you are taking about will continue to suffer. We need to have inflation down, the Kwacha stabilised etc. for us to think of uplifting the lives of the poor.
Spot on. APM is so daft. In fact the economy has gone backwards under APMs leadership. Blackouts, water shortages … really basic things to be measured against. Plain lies in broad daylight by APM.
I am not a DPP supporter but I totally agree that Mutharika has done far well than he is recognised for and we should thank Goodall Gondwe for his work too. Our country was bankrupt – it’s as simple as that. We could have easily become another Zimbabwe but the DPP government has worked extremely well. That does not mean that there are no weaknesses and failures but we should be honest: for government to rely on internal resources is not a joke. What Mutharika needs to do is to listen to criticism and advice – clamp down on corruption and make sure the poorest also benefit.
My hat off to APM and his government.
Remember usayiware Kuti thawi yanu a D P P kunalibe fuel, no forex, no food in the shops, no sugar losing angayiwale ndani, mains. Ukuuza MA Cadet
Daft comment. Bingo made the country bankrupt. JB was in government for 2 years. She turned things around in those years unlike the so called current president known as APM.
CASHGATE, MSBGATE, MAIZEGATE, ADMARCGATE,BLUEGATE,BEAMGATE, shaaaa and what are you saying
Search me! Who is fooling who? Kodi anthufe sitiwona. Still using what JB introduced on kuthetsa kuvuta kwa Mafuta in less than a year.Koma osayamika. On cashgate 276 billion (500+billion) who plundered our economy? JB cashgate inatha imene ilipo imeikuwonanga ndi imene mukukhalilayo kumaloza chala JB. Pangani zimene JB napanga kumanga onse anaba ndalama. How can you regain donar confidence mutakhalira 276 cashgate. This is bad.
Achimwene ako ndi amene anawononga dziko. musamunamizire mayi ayi. may anapanga mbali yache. kuwbweetsa fuel, magetsi improvement and accountability by sending thieve to face the conséquence and bring in forensic auditors
Joyce Banda messed up big time. Stealing at capital hill in broad day light. Devaluing the Kwacha according to the advice of donors, well, she thought she was clever. But she tanked the economy.
Bingu said he inherited govt that didn’t have money from Bakili. Bakili said same things when he did from Dr Banda, Joyce Banda said same things when he took it from Bingu. Now Peter is saying same things. This pathological lies need to stop. Malawians are not babies that can’t see. Be straight with facts.
Its called politics. It’s the only way they can win the confidence of mostly uneducated electorate……by being stingy with the truth. If it was easy to lead a nation then anyone would rise to the occasion. The so-called presidents should learn to do their job as opposed to blaming a situation to their predecessors as if they didn’t know what they will be inheriting once they have been voted in power. Good leaders are those who look forward with a clear vision and strategy. We obviously don’t have those leaders in Malawi. Its like mediocre people being led by mediocre leaders.
Poor Politicians… Joyce Banda also told us that she inherited tattered economy.. who should we believe. It is the genes of all politicians of blaming govts. In short Multiparty destroyed and is destroying our economy because almost all politicians are greedy. Economy is better in their respective homes.
Joyce Banda helped destroy the economy by telling donors to cut-off aid from Bingu’s admistration. The donors came back only to find she was actually a thief.