Malawi economy in ICU—Kabambe
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential aspirant Dalitso Kabambe has described the country’s economy as heading into a crisis as it is currently in the intensive care unit.
Speaking yesterday during a press conference in Blantyre, he said the Tonse Alliance administration has failed to manage fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies since assuming power during the court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election on June 23 2020.
Kabambe, a former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor, said: “Malawi’s economy is in the intensive care unit suffering from monetary, fiscal and exchange rate cancers. The country has high foreign and domestic borrowing than its gross domestic product [GDP]. Huge domestic borrowing also paralyses the private sector which is the hub of the economy.
“The country has also been running on impotent monetary policy as seen in failure to control global and local inflation apart from exchange and interest rates. If Tonse government corrected these, of which I do not think they can with the time-frame they have, the economy would have been stable in few months.”
Taking his turn, DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba asked President Lazarus Chakwera to resign, citing poor economic policies, continued presidential local and foreign trips, corruption and over-spending as some of the issues.
He said: “We are saying enough is enough because the Chakwera administration has failed to manage the cost of living which is rising every day. Over three million people are experiencing high acute food insecurity.
“Maize prices are skyrocketing. In some markets, particularly in the Southern Region, a 50 kilogramme bag of maize is selling at K50 000.”
DPP vice-president (Eastern Region) Bright Msaka faulted the Tonse Alliance on worsening corruption and abuse of public funds.
In an interview yesterday, Malawi Congress Party spokesperson Ezekiel Ching’oma admitted that Malawi is going through economic tough times, but said DPP had no solution to the problems.
He said: “The DPP just misses being in government. We all know that the economic crisis we are going through is global.”
Ching’oma said DPP should wait for 2025 Tripartite Elections as Chakwera cannot resign now.
