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Malawi is eighth poorest country in Africa-Report

Most Malawians are struggling to make ends meet
Most Malawians are struggling to make ends meet

Against the backdrop of looting of government coffers, low gross domestic product (GDP) and a volatile currency, Malawi has been ranked as the eighth poorest country on the continent.

The 2014 10 poorest countries in Africa, according to Richest Lifestyle, a publication that is dedicated to the lifestyle of celebrities, rich and fabulous people around the globe, places Malawi slightly above Niger—which has about 80 percent of the country’s land mass taken up by the Sahara Desert.

However, Malawi, a country which has never been to war and with natural resources, including arable land and has about 30 percent of its surface covered with fresh water, has a GDP per capita, of $893.84 (about K390 000), according to the publication.

According to Richest Lifestyle, as of 2004, 54 percent of Malawians lived under the poverty line on less than $1 (about K460) a day while the country is faced with the shortage of foreign exchange, leading to its failure to pay for some imports.

With the donor support frozen, due to looting of about K20 billion government of money, Malawi has been struggling to meet its expenditure requirements, a situation which may lead to poor social service delivery and more poverty.

Recently, a local economist said only two people out of 100 graduate from poverty in five years, calling on stakeholders to do more to ensure that the underprivileged enjoy the benefits of economic growth.

Explaining reasons for the poverty levels, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) country director Thomas Munthali noted that public spending is inefficient and poorly targeted.

He argued the country has weak governance institutions while investment climate constraints hinder private sector growth.

Last year, another report ranked Malawi as the second world’s worst performing economy after war-torn Central African Republic, according to ranking by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which rates countries by at least one measure.

However, President Peter Mutharika, speaking during his inauguration said government will take a bottom-up approach that involves and directly benefits ordinary people.

Economic Planning and Development spokesperson Jollam Banda earlier said government will ensure that economic growth is inclusive enough to reduce poverty.

He said government will continue to implement policies and programmes that will produce sustained poverty reduction and considering that poverty is multidimensional in nature, government will continue investing holistically in programmes aimed at achieving sustainable economic growth.

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One Comment

  1. SURELY, THIS MUST BE PAINFUL NEWS TO ALL GOOD THINKING MALAWIANS.IT PAINS EVEN MORE CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS WHETHER DEAD OR LIVING ARE NOT AMONGST THE MOST POOREST FORMER PRESIDENTS ACROSS THE WORLD!!!!!!THESE CREATURES CALLED POLITICIANS HAVE BEEN GETTING RICHER WHILE THE REST OF THE 15 MILLION OF US HAVE BEEN GETTING POORER!!!!

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