A latest study commissioned by the global oil firm Puma Energy has exposed four key challenges that policy makers in Malawi should work on.

The study dubbed ‘the changing face of Africa,’ conducted by the London-based independent economic consultants called Llewellyn Consulting, singles out the exchange rate, natural resource management, structural transformation and employment as four main policy challenges strangulating Malawi.

The findings of the study, which is a second study in a series of independent reports by the consulting firm, were released in Johannesburg on Monday during a round table discussion by Puma Energy officials and African business and economics journalists.

According to the study findings, Malawi faces a daunting task of ensuring a stable exchange rate, which is one of the most key determinants of the country’s economic growth-as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), among other fundamental economic variables.

As the economy enters lean season-when demand for foreign exchange is excessive on the few supply of dollars and other foreign currencies available on the market-both importers and exporters are keeping their fingers crossed to the movement and the subsequent strength of the local currency.

Normally, precedence has it that policy makers, in this case the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), finds it tough to manage the few supply of foreign reserves and ensure smooth importation of key goods and services.

John Llewellyn, one of the co-authors of the report, told journalists that Malawi also faces the policy challenge of improving transparency in the way it is managing its natural resources which include the huge discovery of minerals in recent years.

On employment, the report findings explain that Malawi faces the challenge to reduce working poverty as well as youth unemployment which currently is widely bemoaned among most local economic commentators, recently being the Lilongwe-based Centre for Social Concern (CfSC).

Generally, according to the report, prospects for Malawi’s real GDP is promising as the country’s growth is expected to rebound to 5.5 percent in 2013 and a little over 6 percent in 2014.