By Wezzie Gausi in Nairobi, Kenya:
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda is on his knees before the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the ongoing meeting in Kenya, asking the institution for financial support to fast-track development projects currently underway.
For being among countries listed as having risky economies, Malawi has the opportunity of drawing “huge amounts” of money from the bank.
Chithyola Banda believes the ongoing AfDB annual meeting is a chance for Malawi to lobby for increased funding towards productive areas such as agriculture, tourism, mining and energy.
The minister, who is participating in the meeting in Kenyan capital Nairobi, also said yesterday that Malawi wants more support towards climate financing and water and sanitation, among others.
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“Malawi needs more support as we have a funding deficit in the budget and crucial developments for our economic growth,” he said.
Malawi’s economy has been on its knees for years now and authorities have been attributing the crisis to climate shocks, pandemics and geopolitical tensions.
Meanwhile, Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) Executive Director Bertha Phiri has said for Malawi’s economic growth, there is need to lobby for more support.
Banda said the country has the potential to move from the group of risky economies if it focuses much on production.
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“As Mejn, we rally behind the move to look for more support. Even our national budget has some financial gaps that need to be filled. We know many organisations have shown interest to help us but that is not enough,” Phiri said.
Recently, AfDB supported Malawi with $23 million to support the agriculture sector through the budget.
The bank has indicated that for Africa to meet targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where the continent is currently off-track, it needs about K1.3 trillion a year, an equivalent of 42 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product for 2023.
It is further estimated that the continent’s SDG financing gap could reach $19.5 trillion by 2030, considering population growth.
