When Peter Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took over power in May this year, some of the biggest economic questions among monetary policy experts, market analysts, independent observers and jittery business leaders included the following: What will be the new government’s strategic direction on the issue of pricing? Will the exchange rate return to its […]
Malawi public service trade unions have rejected a 24 percent salary pay offer for civil servants, paving the way for possible industrial action. “The recurrent budget includes an amount of K163.3 billion for wages and salaries. This is 24.4 percent higher than last financial year’s provision for wages and salaries. Honourable members will, therefore, note […]
Leader of the Fellowship Church of All Creation (FECOACRE), Senior Prophet FT. Samuel has said Malawians should brace for severe economic challenges in the next 12 months, and has since appealed for patience and prudent management of resources both at household and national level. Delivering his prophetic sermon on Sunday at his Church headquarters in […]
Prominent economist Professor Mathews Chikaonda, the group chief executive officer of Press Corporation Limited (PCL), has backed government zero-aid budget, saying the financial plan delivered by Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe is an ideal package for the country. Gondwe on Tuesday unpacked the 2014/15 National Budget worth K742 billion, which does not include budgetary support from donors […]
The K65.2 billion 2014/2015 budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Health has worried officials at the Malawi Health Equity Network-MHEN, who have since urged Members of Parliament to consider channelling some of the funds from the Farm Input Subsidy Program-FISP to the health sector. Presenting the budget in Parliament Tuesday afternoon, Minister of Finance, Economic […]
Malawi government has announced in the 2014/15 national budget that corporate tax has been reduced without increasing any consumer taxes amid the absence donor injections into the budget. One of the key highlight in the budget, presented in Parliament by Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe on Tuesday, is the reduction of […]
Malawi’s Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe has said the country is “ at its weakest” with huge arrears and lack of budgetary support. Gondwe said this when he presented in parliament on Tuesday the 2014/15 zero-aid budget amounting to K729 billion which does not include budgetary support from donors . The government purse keeper said […]
Malawi’s new administration of Arthur Peter Mutharika has suspended the loan facility introduced by his predecessor Joyce Banda because of the numerous legal and financial problems discovered in the programme. The Farm Input Loan Programme (FILP) which was run parallel to the national Farm Inputs Subsidy Program (FISP) attracted criticism as to who the loan […]
Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe has said Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) will start collecting taxes from those working in diplomatic missions. Gondwe said this on Tuesday in Parliament when he unpacked the 2014/15 zero-aid budget amounting to K729 billion which does not include budgetary support from donors. Announcing new revenue measures, turned his attention to […]
Malawi government has allocated MK7 billion in the zero-aid budget in order to introduce a pilot scheme in subsidising iron sheets and cement, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe told parliament on Tuesday. Gondwe revealed that Government in order to improve living conditions through improved housing in rural and urban areas, the Ministry of Lands, Urban Development […]
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has told parliament that Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) vote in the national budget has a 167 percent increment “which is the highest of all votes” to make sure its efforts in fighting graft are not hampered by lack of funding. Gondwe said when he presented government financial plan for […]
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has called for patriotism as the country starts debating the zero-aid budget with the hope to get budgetary support from donors and assured that government will expose all suspects in what is known as Malawi’s Cashgate—a K13 billion public finance scandal that rocked the country last […]
United Democratic Front (UDF) parliamentary chief whip Lillian Patel has appealed to government to avoid squeezing already overburdened taxpayers during implementation of its zero-aid budget. Malawi President Mutharika told a rally in the commercial city, Blantyre on Sunday that the budget, due to be presented to Parliament Tuesday by Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe, will totally […]
Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says it ready to support the 2014/15 national budget so long it is pro-poor. The budget has to protect and advance people’s welfare, according to MCP Spokesperson Jessie Kabwila. Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe is expected to present a K743 billion zero-aid budget to Parliament. Kabwila therefore said the current administration […]
One of the business and economic commentators in the country, Henry Kachaje who is also president of Economic Association of Malawi (Ecama) has said the use of a zero-aid budget is a sign of maturity for Malawi. Kachaje said this in an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday when asked to comment […]
The budget meeting of Parliament commenced Monday, September 1 at the Parliament Building in administrative capital Lilongwe and Malawi’s Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister, Goodall Gondwe will present a K743 billion zero-aid national budget on Tuesday. Leader of the House Francis Kasaila disclosed that Gondwe is expected to make a statement on the budget […]
Opposition People’s Party (PP) has warned the Peter Mutharika government that its members of parliament will not accept measures aimed at hurting the impoverished to finance the national budget, saying the “privileged sector” should be targeted for punitive taxes. Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya announced that the first budget session of Parliament for […]
Malawi which is currently mauling over how to close financing gaps in the 2014/2015 national budget due to aid freeze, is again faced with another challenge of dealing with the ever soaring debt stocks now standing at K320 billion. The current debt stock means that the country has accumulated more than K100 billion debt just […]