Malawi’s IMF-misreporting case costing donor confidence
Malawi’s forex misreporting case with the International Monetary Fund – IMF is still bothering Lilongwe in its quest for the Rapid Credit Facility – RCF.
Malawi applied for the RCF after failing to qualify for an Extended Credit Facility – ECF due to debt sustainability concerns and reports of financial misreporting to the IMF board.
The Bretton Woods institution’s board began scrutinising Malawi’s case yesterday ahead of a decision on 21 November regarding disbursement of the 88.3 million dollar RCF Food Shock Window package.
Earlier, Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe admitted that the misreporting incident between 2018 and 2020 is still denting the country’s image ahead of the IMF’s decision.
Commenting on the issue, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences based economist, Betchani Tchereni, Tchereni has highlighted that multi-lateral lenders apply a high level of seriousness to beneficiary countries’ financial accounts.
He adds that Government needs to uphold high levels of integrity when dealing with the country’s global financiers and other development partners to maintain their trust.
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