In a move aimed at steering Malawi through economic challenges, President Lazarus Chakwera has implemented a series of measures, including salary increases for civil servants and a review of PAYE in the mid-year budget review.
One of the significant directives involves a substantial cut in fuel allocations for top government officials. Cabinet ministers, Permanent Secretaries, directors, and senior management in public institutions will see their fuel allocations halved with immediate effect. Furthermore, any essential travel during this period must be submitted to the President’s office for authorization.
In a bid to streamline expenditures, President Chakwera has imposed a freeze on all publicly funded international trips for public officers at all levels until the end of the fiscal year in March. He emphasized the need to use the restored international confidence and support judiciously, vowing not to let the opportunity be squandered.
The President has set a clear example by canceling all his international trips between the current date and the end of the fiscal year, beginning with his scheduled trip to the climate summit. He stressed the importance of responsible fiscal management to capitalize on the $174 million Malawi is set to receive over the next four years under the extended credit facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He cited World Bank’s US 60 million Trade Finance Facility, US 217 million as a response to fiscal reforms, US 250 million for Agriculture Commercialisation (Agcom 2), US 30 million for maize purchase, African Development Bank’s US 30 million for budgetary support, European Union’s Euro 70 million for budgetary support and International Fund for Agriculture Development’s US 6 million for projects in agriculture
The Malawi leader also said the approved ECF will also act as a signal to investors that Malawi is back to a status of being an investor-friendly environment, a thing which will attract them to invest in Malawi’s mining, tourism and agriculture sectors which will help to grow the country’s economy.
President Chakwera addressed the nation shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia, outlining these measures to mitigate the effects of the recent 44 percent devaluation. He specifically called on cabinet ministers abroad on taxpayer-funded trips to return to Malawi immediately, demonstrating his commitment to prudent financial stewardship.