Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has announced that it has maintained the policy rate—also known as the bank rate—at 13.5 percent and that the country’s economy is expected to grow by 5% this year, up from 4% the previous year. RBM Governor, Dalitso Kabambe said this to reporters in Mzuzu at the Reserve Bank Mzuzu […]
Latest report by Center for Social Concern (CFSC) shows that Malawi has a debt of about K3.3 trillion both locally and internationally as economic commentators say the rising fiscal deficits and debt threaten the current economic gains, a situation which could rob citizens of access to quality social services in the near future. CFSC’s Economic […]
Government of Malawi is unable to service its scheduled monthly payments of its service providers because it is facing financial constraints, senior official has told Nyasa Times. Major contractors and suppliers have gone two months without payments from government raising a fear of escalating pressure on the service providers to pay their debts to other […]
Alliance for Democracy (Aford) lone legislator Yeremiah Chihana has bemoaned deepening economic hardship in the country, saying Malawians are being reduced to economic refugees. Outspoken Chihana, who is legislator for Mzimba North, said in parliament that new Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Joseph Mwanamvekha has “a very big challenge” to manage the country’s […]
The new Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha has said the exchange rate is expected to average K750 to the dollar and that government will reduce domestic borrowing from 4.1 percent of GDP to 0.3 percent between July and October 2019. Mwanamvekha said this when he tabled the K511.3 billion provisional budget […]
Revered economist and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), Charles Chuka, says inconsistent power in Malawi, high internet and mobile phone costs and lack of regular incomes and bank accounts among many people, are some of the factors impinging on the country’s possible move to a cashless economy. Chuka, a seemingly staunch […]
Malawi continues to be stuck in a poverty trap as poverty reduction has been slow over the past decade with external shocks which have presented a significant challenge to the country’s poverty reduction efforts. According to the Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM) Malawi’s poverty rate has since 2016/17 remained roughly unchangeable, standing in excess of 50 […]
President Peter Mutharika, who was declared the victor in the last month’s presidential election, is maintaining his script about his success in turning around the economy of Malawi after he inherited empty coffers in 2014 and that his second-and-final term he will ensure there is sound macro-economic environment to deliver rapid transformation. The Malawi leader […]
Economic experts have warned the government against taking advantage of the dire situation to abuse the provisional budget parliament is set to approve when the newly elected legislators meet next week. President of the Economists Association of Malawi (Ecama) president Chiku Kalilombe said the government should factor in emergency and important votes in the provisional […]
Political parties have been accused of forex externalization during campaign in the run up to the May 21 elections when they bought party materials from outside the country. Economists Association of Malawi (Ecama) president Chikumbutso Kalilombe said sourcing party campaign materials from outside the country has a bearing on the country’s economy. “The political parties […]
Chancellor College (Chanco) economics society has announced the launch of a programme whose goal is to share economic views from its membership, backed by correct theories, to enable practitioners in the industry make more informed decisions. Speaking on the sidelines of the program launch, dubbed ‘My Views’, the society’s patron, Professor Chiwaula, commended the students […]
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has resolved to slash the policy rate—also known as the bank rate—aa key driver of interest rates on loans—to 13.5 percent in the short-term on account of continued decline in inflation and sustained economic gains. The decisions RBM Governor Dalitso Kabambe announced at a news conference in Blantyre pushed the […]
Some analysts have said three of the presidential running mates in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections who faced off in a heated live television debate on Thursday night in Blantyre, failed addressed how they would reduce the widening gap or inequalities between the poor and the rich. Both the Sustainable Development Goals and the […]
Malawi’s inflation rate is likely to go down to 8 per cent by the end of this year (2019) if the government follows key principles by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The inflation rate is expected to go down further to 5 per cent in the next three years coming. Speaking to journalists at Parliament […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given a positive economic outlook for Malawi after conducting discussions with the Malawi Government on the second review of the three year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) amounting to US$112.3 million. IMF Mission Chief for Malawi, Pritha Mitra told journalists at Capital Hill in Lilongwe that Malawi’s […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Malawi is at growing risk of debt distress because of heavy borrowing, advising government to keep borrowing to a minimum and only procure loans that are concessional. IMF mission chief Pritha Mitra said this at the completions of the second review under the Extended Credit Facility. The fund […]
People’s Party spokesperson on Finance John Chikalimba has said extreme poverty remains widespread in the country and accused government of painting a rosy picture of economic growth when people are still impoverished and suffering. His remarks comes at the wake of a report commissioned by the African Development Bank (AfDB) states that poverty stands at […]
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Goodall Gondwe has told Parliament that government has spent less than what was projected in the 2018/19 National Budget. Delivering a Mid-Year Budget Review Statement in Parliament on Friday, Gondwe said of the K1.3 trillion projected budget for the first part of the 2018/19 financial year, K691.8 billion has been […]