President Peter Mutharika on Friday presented his State Of The Nation Address (SONA) to parliament but could not inspire hope to Malawians on the high cost of living which has pushed most households in abject poverty, although Malawians are clinging to the yet to be delivered K1 trillion plus budget with a flicker of hope. […]
Catholic Church bishop Dr Martin Mtumbuka faced a real story of the suffering Malawians in the villages are facing in the economic turmoil. He explains the story in his own words through this statement after posting photos on Facebook. The bishops says of the photos: “The man standing on my left is carrying a dead […]
An economic think-tank, the Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) says it is doubtful that Malawi will this year achieve the targeted six percent economic growth due to several factors including natural disasters. Mejn executive director Dalitso Kubalasa said this on Wednesday when asked if Malawi would achieve the six percent economic growth target. “This is […]
Bishop for Karonga Diocese of the Catholic Church Martin Mtumbuka wants Malawi economists to renounce text-book economics and develop a brand of practical economics that can take Malawi out of impoverished state. Mtumbuka, who is newly appointed board chairperson of the think tank Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn), said reducing inequality and poverty, and promoting equity, are important macro-economic objectives. […]
In his address to the nation on 6th July 2015, Malawi’s President Peter Muthalika outlined three major solutions to the nation’s social, political and economic challenges and these being; patriotism, integrity and hard work. The President’s call came at a time when as a nation we are witnessing the dwindling level of patriotism. Now what […]
I was recently in Malawi, a landlocked and poor but beautiful African country, where I visited Grow, an NGO focused on growing micro and small businesses. Grow movement was founded in 2009 to assist micro and small scale entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. It operates in Uganda, Rwanda and Malawi. Micro firms (5 or fewer employees) and […]
Business tycoon-cum politician Mark Katsonga has described as terribly hostile Malawi economy for business. “The economy is so unstable and not friendly for business,” Katsonga, proud owner and founder of Agma and Axa Bus company said. He said this on Tuesday during the presentation of awards to long working employees. Katsonga said the business climate […]
It has been some time since I wrote a commentary on Malawi’s economy. I guess the reason was that there was nothing much to write about. The economy has been flat or let me say, it has been negative compared to the growth projection given by Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Goodall Gondwe […]
Malawi has slipped on an economic index by six steps, from I82 to 190, prompting economists to advise the government change the trend. An international organisation, Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI) says it has been collecting data from 129 countries in the last three years before coming up with the index. BTI says Malawi is […]
Two renowned economic think tank officials in Malawi have warned the government against complacency after IMF vote of confidence in the use and management of public resources. Henry Kachaje, president of the powerful grouping of economists body in Malawi, the Economists Association of Malawi (Ecama) said Malawi needs to sustain the gains. “Being on track […]
On 21st October 2013, the South African President Jacob Zuma made a profound statement where he said, “We can’t think like Africans in Africa generally. We’re in Johannesburg, this is Johannesburg. It’s not some national road in Malawi.” As a patriotic citizen this was one such painful statement to swallow. Even though this was painful […]
I once wrote about a friend of mine who did a spell as a young doctor in the main hospital in Mansour, in 2005, at the height of the Iraqi insurgency against the American invasion. When he came to visit in 2007, he said our hospitals were like Sunday picnics by comparison. Down there, his […]
Twenty seven years ago, on 30th March 1989 to be specific, the Daily Times carried an article that questioned the effectiveness of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ‘cures” for Africa’s economic woes. The paper quoted a distinguished African scholar, Professor Adebayo Adedeji who was then Head of the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). […]
Economics Association of Malawi president Henry Kachaje wrote in a certain forum this week that in basic terms, the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)—Supported Programme is like an economic drip that the IMF puts on ‘‘economically sick nations’’ to help them recover. The ECF mainly supports the balance of payments (BOP). It is a form of […]
During the demonstrations to draw attention to the various economic problems rocking Malawi, John Kapito, the Executive Director of the Consumers Association of Malawi(CAMA) said that the opposition is equally to blame for the economic hardships being faced by the majority of Malawians. He singled out the Leader of Opposition in Parliament , Dr Lazarus […]
Last week the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development had a sigh of relief when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission completed its review of the performance of the Malawian economy. With the news that “a request to complete the seventh and eighth reviews under the ECF-supported program could be submitted for consideration by […]
Malawians on social media are describing as the best Easter gift news that International Monetary Fund will resume Malawi’s $150 million extended facility programme which was suspended last year after a ‘cashgate’ scandal involving abuse of state money, a move that has brought donor confidence in the government management of the donor economy. Some have […]
Malawi consumer advocate John Kapito has labelled President Peter Mutharika as Biblical ‘Pontius Pilate’ and Parliament’s opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera as ‘Judas Iscariot’ due to escalating living standards of Malawians. Kapito said this in Blantyre before journalists as he lamented that the government was not doing enough to uplift the dwindling standards of people following […]