Small Scale Business Importers and Exporters Association of Malawi says it will hold demonstrations in Lilongwe and Blantyre tomorrow to force authorities to address their grievances relating to access to foreign currency for their businesses.
Briefing journalists in Blantyre yesterday, the association’s secretary general Frank Mhango said they engaged Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) officials two weeks ago on the foreign exchange challenges, but their efforts to speak to Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs on the same have proved futile.
He said they want government to provide lasting solutions to the forex situation as they were being forced to source foreign currency from the parallel market at higher costs.
“In cases where it [forex] is available, they [small-scale entrepreneurs] are sold at higher rates and only around $300. We will no longer tolerate the exploitation of the economy by unnecessary regulations. We demand change and we demand it now,” said Mhango.
He said while RBM has shown commitment to help, on its own it cannot address their other challenges, which include rising business costs following the introduction of tax stamps and Bill of Payments by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA).
The association’s member Catherine Dickson Makwasa said cross border traders are being left stranded in foreign countries as some banks are failing to facilitate forex payments from their bank accounts.
Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs spokesperson Williams Banda said Treasury believes in “contact and dialogue”.
He said Treasury has since arranged a stakeholder meeting to hear the traders’ concerns.
Presently, the kwacha is selling at K1 751 on the official market, while on the parallel market it is fetching as high as K4 000.
