By Mike Van Kamande
Blantyre, January 8: The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola-Banda says the budget remains an important tool in fostering economic prosperity and eradicating poverty especially now that the economy is experiencing various challenges.
Speaking on Monday morning during the kick-off of the first series of Pre-budget consultative meeting at Mount Soche in Blantyre Chithyola-Banda said it is important that all Malawians brainstorm together areas that the budget should focus on in order to promote economic growth and resilience.
“As you are all aware, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has always prioritized the need to consult stakeholders in order to solicit views, contributions and inputs into the National Budget.
In terms of the preliminary budget processes government has set out the macroeconomic framework for the 2024-25 budget that looks at the macroeconomic targets such as fiscal and monetary policy measures and the debt sustainability targets to be achieved by the end of the fiscal year.
“This follows the agreement with the IMF on an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of up to US$174 million to help restore macroeconomic stability. Therefore government has committed, under the ECF arrangement, to implement structural reforms and prudent macroeconomic (fiscal, monetary, exchange rate) policies and debt restructuring,” Chithyola-Banda said.
In its contribution the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (ICAM) said government should prioritize renegotiation of high cost debts to reduce interests payments in order to reduce the debt burden.
ICAM Chief Executive Officer Noel Zigowa said government should revise income tax on companies and individuals involved in primary agriculture from 30 percent to 10 percent to enhance productivity.
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) director of business environment Madalitso Kazembe said the economic environment in the country continues to be challenging due to shocks the country experienced.
“Government should contain the budget deficit and allocate enough resources to fight corruption and smuggling. Government should also provide incentives to companies that use local raw materials for production,” she said.
