By Dean Chisambo
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Member of parliament for Mulanje South West, George Chaponda has criticised the Tonse Alliance-led Government for cancelling the
Extended Credit Facility (ECF) which was established by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government together with the International Monitory Fund (IMF).
Chaponda said the cancellation was not asked by the IMF but it was the Tonse-led government which requested it and it has taken from 2020 to 2023 to restate the same in this year’s agreement.
Said Chaponda:”The inflation rate was at 7.4 percent, but now it is at 30 percent, the debt was at 8 trillion , now is at 12 trillion.”
Chaponda further said the price of fuel was less, economy in Malawi was growing and the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) was going at fast rate during the DPP government.
He lamented that in this Tonse-led government , things are not working and the government is exposed to many things, corruption featured and all the bad excessive travels which made them delay the restatement.
Chaponda also said the devaluation has gone higher from 25 percent to 44 percent which has made Malawi to become a poorest country.
He described that the people in his constituency are dying of hunger since they cannot afford to buy maize and fertilizer as the bag of maize is now at k43,000 to k45,000 .
“Fertilizer was at k15,000 during DPP regime and now is at K107 ,000 , others are selling it at k110,000 and the civil servants their salaries are low compared to the taxes they are deducted , for example a primary school teacher is receiving k160,000 which is not enough compare to tax deducted. The 10 percent which has been included in this mid year’s budget review will not help for a person to survive,”said Chaponda.
He added that the Tonse-government is full of talking but implementation is zero, whatever they say is full of lies.
In his sentiments, Malawi Congress
Party (MCP) secretary general who is also a member of parliament for Lilongwe Mpenu Eisenhower Mkaka touched on the issue of expanding Malawi’s export basket which comprise of good services to the neighbouring countries for export inorder for the government to get forex.
He said the president has signed a deal with Israel to export young people up to the age of 35 to go and work in farms in Israel .
“We are talking about five thousand youth that are planned to go to Israel to work with possibility to expand this figure to around ten thousand. negotiation are still in progression,” he said.
He said that through exporting youth to Israel, the country is going to have direct dollar injection ,amounting to 90 million dollars, since the youth will open their accounts here in Malawi.
The legislators are contributing their ideas on the mid-year budget review which finance minister Simplex Chithyola Banda presented in the August house amounting to 4.3 trillion supplimentary budget.
 Member of parliament for Mulanje South West, George Chaponda has criticised the Tonse Alliance-led Government for cancelling the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) which…){kind=link}