President Joyce Banda continues to shine in her initiatives to develop Malawi and make it a better place. Much as she inherited a sick economy from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), her adminstration has gotten manifestation of its clue to revamp the economy.
Malawi Government says it expects the country’s economy to grow by 6.1 per cent this year, following significant progress of programmes under the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).
Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Ralph Jooma, on Thursday told journalists in Mzuzu during a press briefing by the cabinet committee on ERP, that there is significant progress of Malawi’s economy following the implementation of ERP.
He said in 2013, Malawi’s economy grew by 5.4 per cent as compared to 1.8 per cent growth in 2012.
“[This] means the 5.4 per cent significant growth rate has actually been achieved because of what we are doing. It is not being achieved by accident.
“It is being achieved following the programmes that we put in place following the ERP. We are expecting that in 2014, our economy will grow by 6.1 per cent,” said Jooma, who chairs the committee.
He was franked by Minister of Information Brown Mpingajira, Minister of Tourism and Culture Moses Kunkuyu, Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Cornelius Mwalwanda and Energy and Mining Minister John Bande, among others.
Jooma also informed the journalists that the country’s inflation rate is not “very bad”.
“Inflation at the end of December was 23 per cent. This is also a… decline because in April 2013, inflation was at 34 per cent,” he explained.
Jooma partly attributed the decrease in inflation to availability of plenty food in the country despite the current lean period.