Key economic players have urged speedy action to fix the country’s ailing economy in the first 100 days after the September 16 2025 General Election.
The call is contained in a White Paper Standard Bank plc released on Thursday following a multi-stakeholder round-table dialogue in Lilongwe in June under the theme ‘Towards economic recovery and growth by bringing the agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing (ATMM)strategy to life’.
Attended by senior level representatives from government, regulatory bodies, donors, United Nations, the private sector and Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), the stakeholders to the dialogue agreed on a raft of recommendations requiring urgent implementation to reverse economic decline characterised by inflation rate at 27.7 percent, interest rates at more than 35 percent and cost of living crisis.
Reads the paper in part: “Malawi is in its most severe economic crisis in decades, with per capita growth likely to remain stagnant into 2026.
“Reversing this will require a shift from the business as usual, especially in an increasingly tough global environment and with declining external support.”
The paper urges addressing shortages in food and fuel, finalising debt restructuring, tightening expenditures, concluding mining development agreements, rebalancing agriculture spending and implementing an accelerator programme for the Malawi 2063 First 10-Year Implementation Plan ending in 2030.
The White Paper indicates that a joint analysis by the Economics Association of Malawi and the National Planning Commission showed that little funding was going towards the ATMM strategy sectors and challenged both government and commercial banks to reprioritise their focus.
“Banks are challenged to increase credit to the private sector where the key ATMM players are as opposed to the current scenario where most credit is going to government,” reads the paper.
During the round table discussion, Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale cited reduction of Affordable Inputs Programme expenditure by 67 percent, de-risking of agriculture by increasing irrigation and insurance and financing smallholder farmers through National Economic Empowerment Fund to prepare them to transition into the mega farm initiative.
On her part, Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule told the round-table that key reforms in the tourism sector include establishment of the Tourism Council, a coordinating unit to drive national tourism development, enactment of the 2025 Tourism Act replacing the 1968 Act, a blueprint to upgrade Malawi Institute of Tourism into a college and upgrading Club Makokola airstrip in Mangochi into an international airport as well as Brand Malawi Project to integrate tourism marketing.
Convenor of the round table, Standard Bank plc chief executive Phillip Madinga reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to continue leading in dialogue aimed at facilitating economic recovery in line with the bank’s purpose to drive growth.
He said: “These conversations are a catalyst for action as what we agree in this forum gets followed through with tangible results.
“Since 2022, we have seen some reforms gaining traction after their tabling on this platform and this third edition of growth conversations builds on that progress.”
Madinga said Malawi economy is at crossroads, with both risk and opportunity clearly visible.
He also highlighted economic uncertainty characterised by food-driven inflation, forex shortages, and rising debt as major downsides.
