Joyce Chitsulo, the coordinator of the Parliamentary Committee of Chairpersons, expressed approval of the government’s dedication to the economic recovery plan, seeing it as a positive step towards revitalizing the struggling economy.
During an engagement with the Parliamentary Committee of Chairpersons at Sunbird Livingstonia Beach Hotel in Salima on Saturday, Chitsulo emphasized that the current business environment and economic situation in the country require a collaborative approach.
“Our economy continues to be significantly weakened by frequent shocks coupled with macro-fiscal imbalances. We have to check illicit financial flows and focus on areas that will give us much value.
“These shocks are affecting the different sectors of the economy which are also inter-linked. As such we need to join hands and come up with long lasting solutions,” she said.
In his remarks Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola-Banda said the proposed roadmap which has both short and long-term implications is aimed at addressing the four Fs of forex, fuel, food and fertilizer.
“Malawi has in the past five years recorded lower than expected growth rates due to the economic shocks and the unsustainable debt we inherited. In 2023 the economy is projected to grow by 1.9 percent compared to 1.1 percent growth in 2022 and hence we have to enhance fiscal discipline to protect the economy,” he said.
Chithyola-Banda said headline inflation has remained high at 27.8 percent in September 2023 mainly driven by food prices.
