Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha yesterday refused to commit on when the National Economic Recovery Plan (Nerp) is expected to stabilise the country’s ailing economy. Asked during pre-budget consultations in Mzuzu as to when Malawians can expect tangible relief from rising prices, weak incomes and persistent shortages of some goods and services, the minister could not tell. He, however, said some positives are already evident, including falling prices of maize and cement, among others.
Mwanamvekha also said Nerp will stabilise the economy, restore confidence and accelerate inclusive growth through prioritised evidence-based interventions that strengthen productivity, job creation and fiscal sustainability. He said: “We will make the tough decisions because we think it’s necessary. You need to know that you need to suffer in a short while for good things to come in future.
We have already started doing it. “But how we maintain it, it depends on a number of factors. Some of them are external.
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Tomorrow we could have a disaster which we can’t predict. But there’s that commitment that we address it as soon as possible.” The minister’s position comes against a backdrop of sustained macroeconomic stress. Inflation currently stands at 27.9 percent, while the official exchange rate is at K1 751 to the United States dollar, compared to a parallel market rate of about K3 800, down from around K4 500 before the September 2025 General Election.
Interest rates remain punitive; with Malawi recording one of the widest interest spreads in the region. Lending rates hover at about 37.4 percent, while deposit rates average 4.7 percent, discouraging savings and choking private investment. Treasury projects economic growth of 2.7 percent in 2026, which is 3.3 percentage points below the six percent threshold required to transition Malawi to a middle-income economy by 2030.
Mwanamvekha dismissed calls from delegates to the pre-budget consultation, including the Church and Society of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia and civil society, to reduce taxes such as value added tax (VAT). The minister doubled down on his earlier statement made at a similar meeting in Lilongwe on Friday that it would be counterintuitive to reverse the taxes, noting that this was the “bitter pill” Malawians have to swallow to guarantee economic stability “We already have too many subsidies in areas of health, education and agriculture. What I am asking is that all the relevant stakeholders need to take a part.
Everyone has to participate in order to address the challenge. “It requires all of us to work together and address [the challenges]. As I have said, it can be painful in some cases.
At times, you have to make those necessary decisions. Not out of bad intentions, but for the purpose of addressing the challenge that we have,” he said.
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