The International Monetary Fund – IMF Board has today approved the disbursement of $88.3 million to Malawi under the Rapid Credit Facility, signifying a new chapter in the life of Malawi’s economy which has been walking on tight rope due to lack of forex and trust from multilateral lending institutions.
The country’s Finance Minister, Sosten Gwengwe confirmed the development moments after the IMF board contacted Lilongwe over the development.
Last month, Malawi became the first low-income country to reach a staff level agreement to receive the amount under the IMF’s new Food Shock Window.
The disbursement of the money is expected to address Malawi’s urgent balance of payment needs.
President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has worked tooth and nail since he came into office to win back trust from the IMF and by extension from all the key multilateral lending institutions.
The credit facility will help Malawi recoup on several key economic pointers that have gone astray during the time the facility was under review.
Malawi will now focus on achieving the Extended Credit Facility from the same IMF.