Malawi economic growth dreams die

Malawi’s finance minister Goodall Gondwe is yet to withdraw his remarks made in Parliament where he said the country will have 6 percent of economic growth in the 2015/16 fiscal year.

Gondwe is on record to have told the house that the country will have a 6 percent hike in its economic growth in this fiscal year that is to end by June.

However, the dreams of Gondwe were dashed following persistent dry spells that affected the agriculture sector, the core contributor to Malawi’s economy.

Executive director for Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) Dalitso Kubalasa said he will not be surprised if Gondwe admits that his dreams have failed to materialize.

“This is one of the gloomy fiscal years, a lot of things have happened in our country in the agricultural, mining, tourism sectors and will not be surprised if government is to confirm this,” said Kubalasa.

Malawi witnessed devastating floods in the 2014/15 fiscal year that were followed by dry spells in most parts of the country in the 2015/16 leading to poor harvest for its citizens.

Meanwhile estimated figures show that half of the population will be food insecure due to the poor harvest.