Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor Wilson Banda has told a Parliamentary Committee that imports such as second hand clothes (Kaunjika) and used cars are draining forex in Malawi.
Banda together with officials from National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee which is inquiring into the fuel shortage situation in the country.
The RBM chief admitted that Malawi is facing the challenge of forex since the country imports more commodities than it exports.
“He says second hand clothes (Kaunjika) and Used Cars are also draining much Forex.
“Banda has also mentioned that, debt servicing is also draining forex as Malawi has expensive debts which are serviced in Dollars,” MIJ Online reported.
Banda during the meeting warned that Malawi need to come up with strategies for generating enough forex or the country may collapse if fuel and medicines continue to be in short supply due to the forex shortage.
He, however, said RBM is doing everything possible to ensure that forex is available in Malawi.
Secretary to Treasury Macdonald Mafuta Mwale said Malawi is currently using borrowed forex, citing the US$50 million from BADEA.
Meanwhile, NOCMA’s acting Chief Executive Officer Hellen Buluma has told the committee that the company has managed to bring into the country 224 trucks out of a planned 300 trucks representing a total of 6.9 million litres and she expressed hope that the fuel situation will be normalised.
Malawi has been grappling with fuel shortage over the past weeks caused by shortage of forex. Activists say there is also shortage of drugs in hospitals in the country as drugs are not being imported by the government.
Follow us on Twitter:
Mukati kaunjika akutha forex nde tidzivala cha ? Nzeru zoyendetsa dziko mulibe agalatiya inu mukuganiza kuti anthu tidzivala cha