RBM brings financial programme to Dedza

Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) engaged members of Dedza District Executive Committee (DEC) and other stakeholders in financial literacy.

RBM chief examiner responsible for consumer protection and financial literacy, Madalitso Chamba said Dedza is the 17th district where they have been conducting such lectures are mostly delivered in the vernacular Chichewa.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, she said most Malawians do not follow the principles of effective money management which makes them spend their hard-earned money carelessly.

“It is possible for one to change their financial life by planning, saving and investing even if you make little money. These days there are so many modern ways of doing transactions even from the comfort of your home like Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba which are helpful because it is unwise to keep cash in your houses,” she said.

Chamba said that although loans from different banks are helpful, people need to realise that loans are not gifts and, therefore, before signing the loan agreement they should ensure that they fully understand the terms and conditions.

“We want people to participate in the business of treasury bills which is one of the instruments that government uses to borrow money from the people as domestic debt, but normally in Malawi, we have established that in most cases it is people who are already on top of economic issues and foreigners who trade in treasury bills,” she said.

Senior Chief Kachere noted that it is important for financial literacy messages to be spread in local languages because people in the villages are not aware of some of the business opportunities which are available due to language barriers.