INFLATION: Malawi President Bans Foreign Trips For Self, Cabinet

President Lazarus Chakwera 

Malawi's president forbids himself and government members from traveling abroad

President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi has stopped all of his cabinet members' overseas trip in an attempt to save money and restore the nation.

On Wednesday night, November 15, the president announced that the suspension is effective immediately in a speech to the nation.

Along with ordering those ministers who are currently abroad to return, he also declared that the suspension would last until March of the following year.

"Any travel deemed absolutely necessary by anyone during that period must be submitted to my office for my personal authorisation," Chakwera said.

The president also announced a number of other austerity measures, such as a 50% reduction in fuel entitlements for cabinet ministers and senior government staff.

The action comes after Malawi's currency underwent a significant depreciation in exchange for an IMF loan intended to strengthen the country's faltering economy.

According to the BBC, Malawi's economy has been going through difficult times lately, which have been marked by a severe scarcity of fuel and diesel and excessive inflation.

The president has requested the finance minister to include a reasonable pay increase for all civil servants in the upcoming budget review as part of efforts to alleviate the cost-of-living problem.

He has also directed that the individual income tax be lowered in the next budget, to aid workers whose salaries have diminished.

The president of Malawi declared that in order to guarantee food security in the nation, the budget cuts—which included a decrease in fuel allowances—will be used to buy food and fertilizer.

The previous year, similar austerity measures were implemented. Malawi reportedly saved a total of $261,000 (£216,000) since he chose not to attend the OPEC Fund Development Forum in Vienna, Austria, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

A four-year credit facility worth $174 million (£140 million) has been approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This approval comes soon after Malawi's central bank announced a 44% devaluation of the CWD.

Experts surmise that obtaining the IMF credit facility may have required the devaluation.

There are worries that a price increase brought on by the currency devaluation could exacerbate Malawians' financial problems, much like what happened ten years ago.