The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has granted Malawi a waiver after it was suspected of misreporting its foreign exchange reserves, helping clear the way for new lending, the IMF’s resident representative for Malawi told Reuters.
“The IMF Executive Board met on Wednesday, in Washington DC, and reached a decision to grant the waiver requested by the Malawian Authorities in connection with the misreporting of the Net International Reserves,” Misrepresentations Farayi Gwenhamo said.
“The IMF executive directors granted the waiver on account of the corrective measures the authorities have taken so far and commit to going forward,” she added in written responses to questions. “This opens a pathway to a new extended credit facility once public debt sustainability is addressed.”
Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe has confirmed the development saying Malawi has saved $58.7 million in the process.
According to the local Chancellor of the Exchequer, Malawi was expected to pay back the $58.7 million it got in the cancelled ECF programme through deceit.
— Times 360 Malawi (@Times360Malawi) November 16, 2022
Earlier this year Malawi also requested a four-year extended credit facility to help with the balance of payment difficulties. The donor-dependent southern African country has been experiencing snaking queues at fuel stations that are running dry due to a lack of foreign currency.
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