The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has blamed Finance Minister, Simplex Chithyola Banda, for the termination of Malawi’s $175 million Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a statement, CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa said the deal’s collapse was inevitable due to the minister’s failure to provide effective leadership in managing the economy, restructuring debt, stabilising the exchange rate, and restoring macroeconomic balance.
Namiwa has called for Chithyola Banda’s resignation and demanded that he explain what benefits Malawians have seen from the 44% and 25% devaluations of the Kwacha, which was one of the conditions that were part of the IMF agreement.
Earlier this week, Chithyola Banda said the suspension of the loan was a mutual decision between Malawi and the IMF. He said the move was aimed at allowing the country to focus on the upcoming elections and to stabilise its internal policy direction.
He further minister said that the IMF recognised Malawi’s position and left the door open for renewed talks after the elections in September.
