2016 to start on a bad note as Kwacha falls again
Malawians must brace themselves for harder economic times in 2016 unlike those faced in the year ending as the Kwacha has yet again fallen against major foreign currencies with a reported increase in inflation.Having tumbled in the year 2015, the Kwacha is now trading at MK800 against the dollar in a year it kept going down.Against the British Pound, the Kwacha is at MK1000. Recently, an economic expert expressed no surprise at the instability of the Kwacha this year.Malawi Kwacha ha fallen.In an analysis of how the country fared economically, economist Nelson Mkandawire said the country started well as compared to the current economic situation.“The country started on a higher note this year as compared to now and the high inflation rate, high bank lending rates among others show that the economy is fragile,” said the former Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) Executive Director.He further said that one of the contributing factors to the economic challenges were the floods the country encountered this year as most people lost their property and crops.“Our economy is a fragile one; when one sector has been affected all the other sectors are also affected. In this respect we can see how the floods affected other sectors of the country,” he said.Mkandawire further said that issues of cashgate and the withdrawal of aid to Malawi by donors also affected the economy of the country.He added that he expected the public reforms to make sectors grow but this has not been the case.