Category: Politics

Revered Chief Economist Chifipa Mhango * A Grant by definition is a sum of money a Government or an Agency provides for a specific purpose — it can be for a road construction, hospital, school etc * In short, when given grant money, the funds cannot be diverted for other use, otherwise that is stealing * On the other hand, ECF is a credit facility or a form of overdraft or loan which IMF provides to various Governments *…

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A conference of IMF gurus * He contends that the IMF didn’t impose conditions on Malawi — but rather negotiated and needed assurance from the MCP-led Government on areas of fiscal discipline, among other terms * President Lazarus Chakwera then signed up to an agreement in 2023 because they were desperate for forex and donor confidence — and thus the same Chakwera administration cannot blame IMF on not meeting targets of the very terms it agreed to By Duncan…

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* The termination of this program is expected to negatively affect Malawi’s international credit rating which may worsen the unavailability of forex * Thus “Malawians should brace themselves for a tough time ahead as this development seems to be the last nail of Chakwera’s administration By Duncan Mlanjira President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration “is now in self inflicting economic mood ahead of the September 16 general elections” following the suspension of the extended credit facility (ECF) by the International Monetary…

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* The decision by the IMF is a clear vote of no confidence on the current government administration’s ability to effectively manage an economy * It is a total termination of support and represents a filing of divorce papers. It is the first time since our democracy in 1994 that such strong words have been used that point towards an electoral process as the remedy to Malawi situation. * It is very clear that what the IMF is telling…

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