Sosten Gwengwe demands economic solutions
Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe Thursday challenged experts who have converged at the National Development Conference in Lilongwe to come up with solutions to the triple threat of forex shortage, huge public debt and limited fiscal space that continue to haunt the local economy
Gwengwe was speaking at the start of the two-day conference being held under the theme ‘Malawi 2063 One Year on: Forging Concerted Efforts on the Journey to Wealth Creation and Self-reliance’.
The conference seeks to review the findings of the Malawi 2063 Implementation Progress Report, one year after the launch of MIP-1.
“More importantly, I would like to request that, in your discussions, you should provide solutions to the immediate trio challenges of low forex reserves, lack of fiscal space, and the unsustainable debt facing the nation,” Gwengwe said.
Gwengwe’s remarks come at a time Malawi continues to operate on extremely thin forex reserves seen at 1.22 months of import cover as at the end of December 2022.
On the other hand, the impoverished nation is sitting on a public debt of K7.3 trillion, which is considered to be unsuitable.
As if that is not enough, the national budget faces a huge deficit due to a weak resource envelope against a lengthy list of needs.
According to Gwengwe, the Malawi 2063 aspirations are formulated based on assumptions of high economic growth, macroeconomic and financial stability through sound financial management as well as evidence-based decision policy making and implementation.
He said getting the assumptions right will be the main preoccupation of his ministry in support of the Malawian aspirations of an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation.
The conference, which ends today, has attracted players from the public and private sectors, development partners and the academia.
