Economy

Malawi’s President Joyce Banda has had 12 tumultuous months since she took office in April last year.

She has attempted to right Malawi’s economy by devaluing its currency, giving herself a 30 percent pay cut and proposed to offload a fleet of Mercs for her 35 member cabinet.

But the economy has continued to sputter despite the reforms although central bank Governor Peter Chuka has remained optimistic that the economy will start to stabilize from mid 2013.

Commodity prices have gone up and pushed inflation to 36.5 percent in March; higher than the IMF forecast.

Since she took over, the cost of living in urban Malawi for a family of six now needs…

Barely hours after MV ILALA hit the waters of lake Malawi after over a 10-months absence, the vessel has once again broken down at Chipoka Harbour in Salima due to engine failure.

The new manager of Malawi Shipping Company-MSC to which ILALA belongs-Motal Engil claims to have spent millions of Kwacha to provide full maintainance of the ship.

When MBC crew visited Chipoka in Salima on Sunday the very day it got stuck with passangers on board, the ship appeared to have been refurbished  with new painting and furniture.

Asked as to…

MALAWI will lobby for the removal of the illegal Western sanctions regime that is affecting ordinary people, the nation’s President Dr Joyce Banda has said. Officially opening the 54th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair here

yesterday, Dr Banda said her country would “blow the trumpet”. “My visit to Zimbabwe has provided me with a rare opportunity to see what is emerging in Zimbabwe. “It gives hope to see that the destiny of Zimbabwe remains in the hands of Zimbabweans.

“We will march with you and the rest of us shall blow the trumpet: ‘lift sanctions, they are hurting…

Kenya Airways (KQ) has received approval from the government of Malawi that will see the airline operate between the capital Lilongwe and Lusaka in Zambia from June 3.

This is after it was given the Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights which allows an airline to carry revenue traffic between foreign countries as a part of services connecting the airline’s own country.

That means KQ will now have the unique role to pick up passengers in Lilongwe and drop them in Lusaka and vice versa.

Currently, Malawi has…

My father once told me when I was a young girl that I was destined to do great things. His belief in my abilities and ambition is rooted deeply in the spirit of Malawians; resilient and determined for a better Malawi and a better Africa. Today we’re at a crossroads to test this spirit. For far too long, the scourge of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has devastated families and communities and slowed the economic growth of Africa. However, significant scientific advances and years of intervention experience have given us the tools we need to defeat these diseases. I…

Malawi expects its maize surplus to increase by nearly 50 percent this season, the minister of agriculture said on Tuesday, a rare economic bright spot for the impoverished southern African nation. A seed and fertiliser subsidy programme in recent years helped Malawi feed itself. However the programme later collapsed because of corruption and after dry spells hit the maize belt. Finance Minister Ken Lipenga told Reuters last week he was banking on a strong harvest to help stem runaway inflation which stood at 37.9 percent in February. Maize is the main driver of inflation in the consumer price index, accounting for about…

President Dr Joyce Banda on Tuesday requested the Flemish Government to earmark the next cycle of assistance towards the agriculture sector.

The President made the request at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on agriculture between the Government of Malawi and Government of Flanders.

The next cycle of assistance amounting to 25 million Euros (about K14 billion) has been pledged towards this course.

“I believe that it…

Governments of Malawi and Mozambique on Wednesday signed three pacts in the areas of power, science and technology, and immigration and public security.

The signing of the agreements took place at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe after the visiting Mozambican President Armando Guebuza held bilateral talks with President Dr. Joyce Banda.

The two governments first signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Scientific Technological and Innovation which was signed by Malawi Education Minister, Eunice Kazembe and Oldemiro Julio Marques Baloi,…

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved, on March 13, 2013, grants and loans amounting to US $73 million to finance irrigation and road rehabilitation projects in Malawi.

The grants, totalling US $39.98 million from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and the African Development Fund (ADF), will be used to finance the Smallholder Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP). A total of US $39.6 million will come from the GAFSP Multi-Donor Trust Fund, while the ADF will provide a grant of US $0.38 million.

The project aims is to contribute to food security, increased income levels and…

Malnutrition in Malawi: is permaculture the solution?

Malawi’s dependence on maize has led to malnutrition, will encouraging permaculture help Malawians increase their intake of micronutrients?

As the third highest per capita consumers of maize in the world, Malawi’s dependence on a grain with high energy content but low protein, fat, and micronutrient quality has led to sustained issues of malnutrition. Despite recent praise of Malawi’s efforts to end hunger from the head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation…