BARD AI
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 24, 2018
- 3,377
- 8,121
Pia, Chakwera ameweka vikwazo vya Safari za ndani ya Nchi na kupunguza kwa nusu ya mgawo wa Mafuta kwa Mawaziri na Maafisa Wakuu wa Serikali, uamuzi ambao utatumika hadi mwisho wa mwaka wa Fedha ujao, (Machi 2024).
Aidha, Rais amemtaka Waziri wa Fedha kuweka masharti ya nyongeza ya Mishahara kwa watumishi wote wa Umma katika mapitio ya Bajeti ya mwaka 2024/25 pamoja na kupunguzwa kwa Kodi ya Kipato (PAYE) kwa Wafanyakazi akieleza kuwa Mapato yao yamepoteza thamani kutokana na Mfumuko wa Bei.
Hatua ya Rais inafuatia Shirika la Fedha la Kimataifa (IMF) kuidhinisha mkopo wa miaka 4 wa Tsh. Bilioni 435.5 siku chache baada Benki Kuu kutangaza thamani ya Sarafu ya Malawi imeshuka kwa 44%.
=========
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has suspended with immediate effect all international travel involving himself and all government officials.
He has also ordered all ministers currently outside the country to return home.
Speaking in a televised address on Wednesday night, he also announced restrictions on local travel and a reduction by half of the fuel allocation to cabinet ministers and senior government officials.
The measures will be in place until the end of the financial year next March.
Some similar austerity measures were also announced during the Covid pandemic but had limited impact as they were not strictly enforced.
The president asked the minister of finance to make provisions for a reasonable wage increase for all civil servants in the next budget review.
He also directed a reduction of income tax in the new budget so as to help workers whose pay has lost value as result of inflation.
The president’s move comes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a four-year credit facility for Malawi worth $174m (£140m), just days after the country devalued its local currency.
Last week, the central bank announced a 44% drop in the value of the local currency, the kwacha.
Analysts suggest the devaluation may have been a condition for securing the IMF credit facility.
BBC