Africa-Press – Malawi. In a bold and reassuring message to Malawians, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor Dr. MacDonald Mafuta Mwale has declared that foreign exchange is on its way, but made it clear that devaluation of the kwacha is not the answer to the country’s economic challenges.
Speaking during the Public Affairs Committee’s 6th All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference in Blantyre, Mwale responded to a question from People’s Party Secretary General Ben Chikhame on the ongoing forex crisis with a firm and hopeful statement:
“Forex is coming. Ndaponda mwala.” At a time when some voices are calling for further currency devaluation, Mwale pushed back sharply:
“Devaluation is not the solution,” he said. “Ngati mukufuna devaluation, mundiuze ndinu,” he added pointedly, challenging the idea with wit and conviction.
He warned that devaluation tends to empower opportunistic traders who raise prices disproportionately, leaving ordinary Malawians to suffer.
Instead, Mwale emphasized the importance of long-term investment in key sectors like agriculture and mining, saying these are the foundations for sustainable forex generation and economic growth.
Adding weight to this position, Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda echoed Mwale’s sentiments, calling on Malawi to trust its own homegrown economic thinking.
“It is time for the country to put to the test its own tailored economic theories to generate enough resources to finance strategic sectors,” Chithyola Banda stated in his brief address at the same conference.
Both Mwale and Chithyola Banda were addressing concerns about the recent suspension of the $175 million Extended Credit Facility (ECF) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mwale clarified that this does not signal a breakdown in Malawi’s relationship with the IMF.
He announced that an IMF team is expected in Malawi on Thursday to reflect on past program challenges and assess whether a new partnership can be formed.
In a sobering reflection, Mwale also revealed that Malawi is still paying off loans acquired as far back as the 1970s, a weight he said is severely limiting public service delivery.
“Government does not default—but that discipline comes at a cost. Debt is crippling whatever we try to do,” he noted.
Together, Mwale and Chithyola Banda delivered a message of economic realism grounded in local innovation and resilience—a call to shift from dependency and reaction, to ownership and strategy.
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