{"id":61064,"date":"2024-05-17T01:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T01:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/increasing-monetary-policy-rate-will-damage-economy-warns-mmembe"},"modified":"2024-05-17T01:36:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T01:36:00","slug":"increasing-monetary-policy-rate-will-damage-economy-warns-mmembe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/increasing-monetary-policy-rate-will-damage-economy-warns-mmembe","title":{"rendered":"INCREASING MONETARY POLICY RATE WILL DAMAGE ECONOMY, WARNS M\u2019MEMBE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Socialist Party (SP) President, Fred M\u2019membe, has voiced concerns over the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Monetary Policy Committee\u2019s (MPC) recent actions, stating that the significant increase in the statutory reserve ratio is hindering businesses from accessing affordable credit, thereby exacerbating the economic downturn.<\/p>\n

Dr. M\u2019membe pointed to the International Monetary Fund\u2019s (IMF) recent downward revision of Zambia\u2019s GDP forecast for 2024 from 4.7% to 2.3% as evidence of the economy\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n

He highlighted that with an annual population growth of 2.5%, the real GDP growth stands at -0.2%, indicating a technical recession.<\/p>\n

The SP President argued against further increases in the Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR), suggesting that a reduction would be more beneficial.<\/p>\n

He also expressed skepticism towards inflation targeting as a solution for reducing inflation, emphasizing that monetary policy alone is insufficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoZ\u2019s efforts are being undermined by fiscal policies,\u201d Dr. M\u2019membe stated. \u201cRaising the monetary policy rate will only inflict more harm on the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged the BoZ to maintain or reduce the current rate, criticizing the disconnect between the policy rate and commercial bank lending rates, which range from 25-28%.<\/p>\n

Dr. M\u2019membe accused commercial banks of unethical conduct, investing K14 billion of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) balances in government securities, and called for BoZ intervention.<\/p>\n

The Opposition Leader is advocating for expansionary measures to stimulate economic growth and proposed the reintroduction of a facility similar to the K10 Billion Medium Term Refinancing Facility established during the pandemic to aid businesses and individuals affected by the current drought and subsequent power and water rationing.<\/p>\n

Dr. M\u2019membe has called for the MPC to consider the hardships faced by Zambians and for the BoZ to make independent decisions to support the struggling economy.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. Socialist Party (SP) President, Fred M\u2019membe, has voiced concerns over the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Monetary Policy Committee\u2019s (MPC) recent actions, stating that the significant increase in the statutory reserve ratio is hindering businesses from accessing affordable credit, thereby exacerbating the economic downturn. Dr. M\u2019membe pointed to the International Monetary Fund\u2019s (IMF) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":61063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,25,6],"tags":[233,371,234],"class_list":["post-61064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-featured","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nINCREASING MONETARY POLICY RATE WILL DAMAGE ECONOMY, WARNS M\u2019MEMBE - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/increasing-monetary-policy-rate-will-damage-economy-warns-mmembe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"INCREASING MONETARY POLICY RATE WILL DAMAGE ECONOMY, WARNS M\u2019MEMBE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Malawi. Socialist Party (SP) President, Fred M\u2019membe, has voiced concerns over the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Monetary Policy Committee\u2019s (MPC) recent actions, stating that the significant increase in the statutory reserve ratio is hindering businesses from accessing affordable credit, thereby exacerbating the economic downturn. 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