During the just ended sitting of Parliament an opposition legislator from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Willard Gwengwe alleged or rather exposed to the nation that our government currently has an external debt of about K150 billion. Repeatedly I have heard our honourable members debating on various loan authorization bills that have been tabled in […]
Nyasa Times has once again been vindicated. The June 13, 2011 Nyasa Times report said the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) will put into circulation 1,000 Kwacha (about $6) bank notes, has now been confirmed. Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor, Dr Perks Ligoya, told a news conference in Blantyre on Friday that the new […]
The World Bank said Thursday it had offered Malawi a plan to help turn around the troubled economy of the southern African nation. “We have presented a comprehensive package with all necessary measures to help the Malawi economy,” Marcelo Giugale, leader of a Bank delegation, told reporters in the main city Blantyre. Giugale, the Bank’s […]
Just when are queuing for fuel and facing forex shortage, now there is no sugar in the supermarkets and shops, when it is available customers can only buy one packet. A spot check in supermarkets in Lilongwe by Nyasa Times correspondent on Wednesday revealed a grim picture with the majority of them raitionioning the commodity […]
Malawi needs a bail out of about $500 million to get out of its economic mess. Currently on ICU, it urgently requires Western assistance but the President Bingu wa Mutharika’s vilification of donors last Sunday has jeopardised the possibility of a rescue package, diplomatic sources have confided. Senior diplomats, in separate interviews, told The Nation […]
Several traditional leaders in Malawi have lately taken to the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) TV to argue on the president’s behalf about why the Malawian currency, the Malawi Kwacha, must not be devalued. The suggestion to devalue has been prescribed by the International Monetary Fund and Malawi’s bilateral donors, and has been supported by several […]
It does not rain; it pours for motorists in Malawi. After an almost three-week break from long fuel queues due to the commodity’s scarcity, motorists have to brace for another fuel nightmare experience as fuel supply returns to being erratic. In Lilongwe, the capital city, fuel is completely scarce and the long queues of motorists […]
Malawi’s economic growth slowed more than expected to 6.0 percent last year, partly due to higher fuel prices and reduced income from lower tobacco prices, Finance Minister Ken Lipenga said on Thursday. The rate of growth was lower than government’s initial forecast of 6.9 percent after a 7.1 percent rise in 2010. “In the face […]
Influential Roman Catholic Church has urged its faithful to pray for the worsening economic and governance conditions in the country, according to a Lenten pastoral letter issues by the Episcoporal Conference of Malawi (ECM). The letter signed by ECM chairperson , His Grace, Right Rev. Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza, was released on ‘Ash Wednesday’ kicking […]
Official data show Malawi’s inflation has hit a double-digit figure. The data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) in Zomba confirmed fears that Malawi’s economy is heading for a fall. NSO data showed on Monday that Malawi’s consumer inflation quickened to 10.3 percent year-on-year in January from 9.8 percent in December. “Food inflation has […]
Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika is insisting that country’s currency, the Kwacha will not be devalued as demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and poked fun at Brettonwood institutions. Mutharika, an Indian trained economicst said on Sarurday on remarks aired live on state radio and television that devaluation “does not make sense(and) it will […]
One of the obvious reasons for Malawi’s fight for democracy was for people to get back their freedoms which were denied by Dr Kamuzu Banda’s dictatorship. As it were, of more important is the freedom of expression through which alternative views for running the country can be offered. To start with it must be mentioned […]
The offer by Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika to host the next African Union has attracted both negative and positive comments from a wide spectrum of the public both internationally and locally. It is important, according to consensus within Malawi, to take an analytical view of the situation instead of just praising or opposing the […]
When Dr Justin Malewezi, former Vice President of the Republic of Malawi visited Malaysia in February 2003 for the Non-Allied Movement, he and his entourage marvelled at how far developed Malaysia is. “One wonders why this country is referred to as a developing country. They have progressed beyond that point”, he remarked after a tour […]
Malawi has cut its national budget by K16.5 billion because it cannot collect the money due to reduced economic activities brought in by fuel and foreign exchange scarcity. The budget was brought last year and it was branded a zero-deficit budget as it was supposed to run on locally generated resources mainly from many taxes […]
Experts have said Malawi is moving a step forward and miles backwards in policies meant to stabilise the economy one of them being financial inclusion. This is coming just few days after Minister of Finance Ken Lipenga reported to Parliament that government had made headway to include those in need of banking services through Financial […]
Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am delighted to stand before this august House and deliver my maiden budget speech, albeit at the mid year, to appraise the House and the Nation about our economic and budget performance in the first half of the Fiscal Year and present prospects to the end of the Fiscal Year. DEVELOPMENTS […]
Britain’s Department for International Development (DfID) head in Malawi, Sarah Sanyahumbi, has added her voice to the chorus that the zero-deficit national budget has been a disaster that has resulted in economic hardships for the majority of Malawians. But Minister of Finance Ken Lipenga presenting a Mid-Year Review of the Budget in parliament on Friday, […]