International Monetary Fund (IMF) First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath is today expected to meet and hold discussions with President Lazarus Chakwera at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
The visit by Gopinath comes a week before the IMF Mission to Malawi starts reviewing the country’s performance under the Staff Monitored Programme with Executive Board involvement (PMB) that was approved in November 2022.
Presidential Press Secretary Anthony Kasunda confirmed the development in a statement yesterday.
Kasunda said Gopinath is in the country to appreciate firsthand the challenges facing the economy in the face of recent external shocks.
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He added that Gopinath would like to hear directly from Chakwera about Malawi’s development priorities and reform programmes that require support from the IMF.
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“She will also hold discussions with officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) on the Extended Credit Facility Programme Malawi is moving towards.
“His Excellency warmly welcomes Ms Gita to Malawi and the IMF’s commitment to Malawi’s economic progress that this high-level visit represents,” Kasunda said.
New IMF Resident Representative Nelnan Koumtingue yesterday said he would share an update on Gopinath’s visit today.
Last week, Secretary to the Treasury MacDonald Mafuta Mwale indicated that an IMF Mission is expected to be in the country from September 12 to 19.
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The review, which is based on end-June programme targets, is crucial for Malawi as the country seeks to graduate to an upper credit tranche programme with the IMF, the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
Mwale said pre-mission virtual meetings for technical discussions with teams at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, RBM and others involved in the implementation of the PMB are already underway.
Recently, RBM Governor Wilson Banda said Malawi had made remarkable progress in putting its house in order ahead of the Second Review by the IMF.
Banda said significant steps have been taken by the fiscal authorities to address the issue of unsustainable foreign debt by engaging creditors to agree on debt restructuring.
“I am glad to report that a lot of progress has been made. It’s not a done deal yet but I can almost say with certainty and confidence that we are getting there.
“We are hoping that, by the time we go to the IMF Board for the final discussion on ECF, which, in this case, will be scheduled for November, all other things being constant, we are hoping that we would’ve concluded our discussions on the debt arrangement with our creditors,” Banda said.
