Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman has announced that Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha will present the 2026/27 National Budget in the National Assembly on February 27.
The Speaker told the House yesterday that lawmakers will continue debating President Peter Mutharika’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) delivered last Friday.
“From now until Friday 20 2026, we will debate the State of the Nation Address presented before Parliament. Then on 27 February at 2pm, the Minister of Finance will present the budget,” he said.
The budget comes days after Mutharika outlined a recovery strategy centred on fiscal discipline, administrative austerity, food market interventions and digital governance reforms.
Malawi heads into the new financial year with public debt estimated at K24.4 trillion, about 90 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Interest payments are projected at K2.47 trillion next year, representing 27 percent of total expenditure, while domestic borrowing is set at K2.4 trillion.
In his address, Mutharika said government has reduced the number of principal secretaries from over 80 to 38 and removed ghost workers to create fiscal space, arguing that raising revenue while cutting expenditure is key to restoring macroeconomic stability.
Food security and inflation control are also central to the administration’s plan.
Government intends to roll out a K129 billion fertiliser programme targeting 1.1 million beneficiaries, while maize output for the 2025/26 season is projected at 2.86 million metric tonnes, up five percent from the previous year.
However, Economics Association of Malawi president Bertha Bangara-Chikadza said efforts to push inflation below 21 percent will depend on sustained easing of food prices and improved foreign exchange availability.
Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of Malawi data show gross official reserves stood at $530 million in November 2025, equivalent to 2.1 months of import cover, below the recommended 3.9 months for credit-constrained economies. Broad money supply has grown by 44.4 percent, with the policy rate at 26 percent.
