By Linda Kwanjana
Against a background of social media stint criticising President Dr Lazarus Chakwera for no apparent reasons at all, Chakwera has outclassed his critiques proving to be the best president Malawi has been looking for long time.
Chakwera has managed to restore donor Confidence at a very short period of time which got lost during Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regime.
In terms of economic turndown through, multilateral relations, Chakwera has also scored highly.
As a matter of background, on 22 September, 2022, Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera and the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided over the signing of a Millennium Challenge Corporation compact (MCC) worth US$350 million.
The Malawian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Sosten Gwengwe and MCC CEO Alice Albright signed the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).
The aid through the MCC, which assists developing nations meeting democratic benchmarks, will fund a major road network to connect rural and urban areas in Malawi.
The Biden administration says through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the U.S. government and the Government of Malawi will include the $245 million Accelerated Growth Corridors Project.
The project “sets out an ambitious agenda to reduce transport costs and better connect goods, farms, and rural populations to markets.”
The compact’s Accelerated Growth Corridors Project will invest in Malawi’s transportation sector, including road updates in four selected corridors located in strategic agricultural areas.
As that is not enough, through the same multilateral relationship in October, 2022, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mika Saito held discussions with the Malawian authorities during October 11-17, 2022, in Washington DC, following meetings in Lilongwe during October 5-8, 2022, on Malawi’s request for emergency financing under the IMF Rapid Credit Facility’s new Food Shock Window and for Program Monitoring with Board involvement.
The IMF team reached a staff-level agreement with Malawi on a Rapid Credit Facility through the IMF’s new Food Shock Window and Program Monitoring with Board involvement (PMB) to help restore macroeconomic stability and provide the foundation for an inclusive economic recovery.
The disbursement under the Food Shock Window, of up to about US$88.3 million (50 percent of IMF quota), combined with the PMB, to help address Malawi’s urgent balance of payments needs related to the global food crisis and will support economic adjustment and structural reforms.
