An International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission is expected in Malawi from September 12 to 19 to review the country’s performance under the Staff Monitored Programme with executive board involvement (PMB) that was approved in November 2022.
Secretary to the Treasury MacDonald Mafuta Mwale confirmed the development Sunday.
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, the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and others involved in the implementation of PMB are underway”.
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Last week, RBM Governor Wilson Banda said Malawi has made remarkable progress in putting its house in order ahead of the Second Review by the IMF.
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Banda said significant steps have been taken by the fiscal authorities to address the problem 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.
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Currently, Malawi owes Afreximbank, Trade and Development Bank, China, India and creditors slightly over a billion United States Dollars.
According to Banda, Malawi is pushing for a moratorium or debt relief on the loans.
Banda said, on the other hand, the monetary authorities have taken gradual steps in realigning the exchange rate through the use of foreign exchange auctions as a price discovery tool.
Banda has blamed continued pressure on the local currency on speculation.
