Malawi pushes for K236bn from India
Malawi has pleaded with the Indian government to release about K236 billion it pledged to the country through credit and grants for different development projects, some dating back to five years ago.
The funds include $23.5 million (about K13 billion) which is the remainder originating from a 2010 line of credit and $1 million (about K558 million) another remainder from an original $5 million grant India pledged in 2010.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation George Chaponda said this yesterday during a news conference at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre on the Third India-Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi, India where he represented President Peter Mutharika.
Chaponda said the $23.5 million grant pledge was meant to finance Blantyre water supply improvement projects while the $5 million was earmarked for the establishment of an industrial incubator in Malawi and for the Indian government to consider finalising the bidding process.
Besides the two remaining grants, Chaponda also revealed that Malawi asked the Indian government to grant it another line of credit amounting to $400 million (about K223 billion).
The minister said he personally asked the Indian government to release the funds when he met India’s Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, on the sidelines of the summit.
He said out of the $400 million, $150 million had been earmarked for water projects in order to improve water shortages in the country while $50 million would go towards enhancing construction and capacity for community technical colleges.
Since 2008, India has offered lines of credit worth $156.5 million (about K87 billion) as well as grants worth $10 million (about K5.6 billion). n
