‘Malawi not borrowing too much’

Minister of Finance and Development Planning Dr Ken Lipenga has dismissed claims that Malawi is borrowing too much and needlessly.

Lipenga was speaking when signing a loan agreement of $60 million (K10 billion) with the African Development Bank (ADB) last Friday.

During the last sitting of Parliament, opposition political parties accused the Mutharika administration of borrowing too much and needlessly, saying this will burden future generations.

But Lipenga said the money government borrows is used to uplift the lives of poor Malawians.

“How much borrowing is too much?” asked Lipenga.

“Today, we have signed a loan agreement for the Higher Education, Science and Technology (Hest) and the Competitiveness and Job Creation Support projects aimed at helping Malawian children get better education and employment,” he said.

ADB resident representative Andrew Mwaba said the loans will carry high concessional terms with a 10-year grace period and will be repaid in 40 years.

“We do not want to judge the success of the two projects by the amounts disbursed and structures built, but by the number of smiling faces,” Mwaba said.

The Hest project is estimated to cost about $45 million (K7.8 billion) and the ADF has provided $10 (K1.7 billion) million, the remaining money will come from the Government of Malawi.

The aim of the project is to improve the quality and relevance of skills development in the country for job creation and employability of graduates.