Cushioning devaluation
November 16 2023
So, it would appear Malawi had news from President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday night. Apart from news that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had approved the Malawi bid for the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
The hope then, Dear Diary, is that this development will translate into its intent to catalyse foreign aid. We keep in mind that it is one thing to get aid, but how that aid is used, misused and abused is another thing altogether.
Chakwera’s call at the United Nations General Assembly was for the cancellation of the Malawi debt. It must be made clear that Malawi’s debt has been cancelled previously under the highly indebted poor countries. How that translated remains to be seen as we are still in the quagmire of debt that chokes the nation’s development.
Chakwera also announced some austerity measures in place to cushion the effects of the 44 percent devaluation announced last week.
The President indicated there would be a cut in foreign travel, starting with the trip to the Conference of Parties (CoP 28) which takes place later this month.
He also announced cuts in fuel allocation for Cabinet ministers by half and also cuts on foreign travel.
While you would think Chakwera would also go for a trim in his Cabinet, the hope is that these austerity measures will be brought to fruition. We saw it previously when government announced a ban of lakeside conferences and workshop. We are back to the situation where government trainings are conducted in Salima and Mponela for civil servants to siphon from the government coffers in the form of per diems.
The leader has been known to promise one thing, and doing the opposite. We all remember that he told us that if he would not change the way the government is run, he would resign. Today, he is still at the helm, albeit his running the affairs of State in a manner that is no departure from the norm.
When he came to power, Chakwera inspired enthusiasm among Malawians. For one, he broke the avoidance of the constitutional appearance in the National Assembly. Unlike his predecessors who shunned such Parliamentary appearances. He faced members of Parliament to answer their questions.
Right now we hear MPs who are mostly from the government side have shot down moves to call the President to the House. One reason is very clear: Things are not in order.
We all know that when he came to power, Chakwera used to have monthly briefings at the State House.
These were free and open platforms for him to outline the necessary government operations. Now all that is gone. Even more, on his way back from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Chakwera shunned the media.
That is only a signal for one thing: All is not well.
Even Minister of Finance and Econimic Affairs Simplex Chithyola- Banda has exposed that he is gripped by the contagious avoidance of the press. When he announced some measures to be taken in the wake of the devaluation, he avoided taking questions from the media.
There is one thing about shunning the media and bad governance. A leadership that is wayward will do all it can to hide information at all cost.
While the austerity measures as announced by the President are welcome, it is the wish that government brings out pay raises for civil servants given that the rise in cost of living is all clear for all to see. Or, should we hang on a bit since the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions has announced it is keeping that in check? But they set no timeframes on what action is to be taken if government does not comply.
