President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Monday evening held talks with Prof. Benedict O. Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) on the sidelines of the Intra – African Trade Fair (IATF2023) in Cairo, Egypt.
During the discussions, Afreximbank has committed to support and finance Chakwera’s vision to construct industrial parks in order to boost exports through value addition of products that are produced on mega farms.
Afreximbank further registered its commitment to support President Chakwera’s program to generate forex by securing markets and off takers for Malawian produce.
Chakwera and Benedict Oramah
Critically Afreximbank has committed to support the Malawi Government’s efforts to secure an extended credit facility from the IMF in order to leverage foreign investment avenues and lines of credit for strategic imports that will boost production in the Agriculture, Tourism, and Mining sectors in line with Chakwera’s development agenda.
Following reports of the untimely death of a young inmate at Bvumbwe Rehabilitation Centre for Young Offenders in Thyolo, the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) says it has launched a comprehensive investigation to find out more on what exactly happened.
According to a statement signed by MHRC executive secretary, Habiba Osman, a preliminary fact-finding mission by the Commission has confirmed the tragic loss of life, with the deceased’s body currently held at Thyolo District Hospital, for further processes.
She says the commission is organizing the investigation under Section 6 of the Inquest Act, where death occurs in prison, an inquest should be made by a Magistrate.
Habiba Osman
“The Commission, therefore, calls upon all stakeholders including the Malawi Prison Service, the Malawi Police Service, and family members to cooperate with the Commission in terms of section 15 of the Human Rights Commission Act,”says Osman in a statement.
The incident is believed to have occurred on or around November 5, 2023.
Minister of Finance, Simplex Chithyola Banda has outlined strict measures administration of President Lazarus Chakwera has put in place to safeguard Malawi of its forex, saying government will soon quantify its mineral deposits in monetary value as one way of strengthening the country’s economy.
The Minister was speaking during the press briefing he held at Bingu International Convention Center in Lilongwe on Monday, 13th November, 2023.
In his briefing, Chithyola told the press and the nation that government has put strong measures to control the shortage of forex in the country which include quantifying country’s mineral deposits and monetize it.
“Malawi will also promote Carbon Credit Trading with those countries which are in the trade. Malawi will also concentrate on Cannabis Biomass Project for improved forex. Malawi will use Mega Farms as one way of improving its economy through more exports, and government is working on establishment of Industrial Parks in Lilongwe and Blantyre which will increase availability of forex in the country” Added Chithyola.
In the statement, Chithyola told the nation that Malawi has considered the vital role the defunct Malawi Development Corperation (MDC) was playing in development of the country and it has re-established MDC to help in developing Malawi.
Further, the Finance Minister said from 13th November 2023, Government through its relevant institutions will investigate on the rumors that some bank employees are involved in smuggling of forex for illegal markets popularly known as black markets.
Meanwhile, all business operators involved in businesses on not less than K5 million has to register through MRA for payment of relevant taxes.
In the statement, Tourism has also been earmarked for revamping the country’s economy, and the Minister disclosed that if well implemented, the measures stand Malawi a chance of generating more than $5 million of United States in the next two years.
However, Finance Minister was quick to say government through the set measures will take to task all those who will try to temper or play around with the national economy.
Malawians stand to benefit from safety net measures which Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda has announced following the 44% devaluation.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda says Government has put in place various measures to cushion poor Malawians from the shocks arising from the recent 44 percent devaluation of the local currency against the United States dollar.
This follows the Reserve Bank of Malawi announcement of a 44% realignment of the kwacha against the dollar, a move the Central Bank said was aimed at correcting supply-demand imbalances in the forex market.
The kwacha fall has triggered sharp rise in the cost of living, especially basic commodities, a situation that is likely going to push the inflation upwards.
But addressing journalists in Lilongwe on Monday morning, Chithyola Banda says Chakwera-led administration appreciates the pain the increase in the cost of living has caused on Malawians, particularly the less privileged citizens.
President Chakwera
The minister further stated that the government will continue with the implementation of Cyclone Recovery intervention in Blantyre Rural, Thyolo, Phalombe, Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Balaka, and Zomba Rural targeting 184,920 households where beneficiary households receive MK150,000 to support with consumption needs and cushion the affected households against the effects of the alignment.
“Government will re-introduce the Price Shock Urban Emergency Cash Transfer Program which will target 105,000 households in Zomba, Blantyre, Mzuzu and Lilongwe city councils and the beneficiaries will receive a once off transfer of MK150, 000 covering a period of 3 months, ” he said.
Chithyola also said Government will increase Social Cash Transfer Benefit Levels by 57 percent which is more than the exchange rate alignment amount.
The Minister said Government will Increase Social Cash Transfer Beneficiary Coverage from the current 10 percent to 15 percent of the population.
“Pursuant to section 54 of the Employment Act (Cap. 55:01 of the Laws of Malawi), Government has embarked on consultations with relevant stakeholders to revise the minimum wage. The government will also embark on a similar exercise with respect to public servants,” he said.
With the measures, many Malawians will benefit in various ways in cushioning their daily livelihood.
It is clear that government had already put in place necessary measures to ease the economic burden of the downtrodden in the sociaty when they were effecting the devaluation last week.
Speaking at the Press Conference organised by the Ministry of Information in Lilongwe, the Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola say President Lazarus McCarthy has throughout the period proactively prepared to help people who may be affected by the impact of devaluation.
Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola at the Press Conference
Chithyola said government will cater for 184 820 households from the Cyclone affected families of Phalombe, Blantyre, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Nsanje Chikwawa, Balaka and Zomba rural with K50 000 monthly allocation from the Social Cash Transfer programme urban fund to help them survive the effects of devaluation.
Chithyola further said that about 105 000 households in cities will get monthly upkeep of K150 000 for three months for the same reason.
The new Finance Minister then revealed the increase of beneficiaries under Climate Smart Public Works Programme from 362 to 520 000 houselds.
Overall there is an increase of Social Cash Transfer Programme from 1 million beneficiaries to 2 million in response to devaluation.
In economic terms these sound economic will not only help mitigate the the vulnerable families would have faced, it will also help to keep money in circulation and enhance the buying power which will translate in giving a lifeline to business activities in the country.
This puts to bed fears people had after the devaluation was announced.
