Maravi

(NYASATIMES) Malawi President doing spin on economy - UDF

Malawi President doing spin on economy - UDF
19 January, 2009 04:36:00

Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) says government should learn to tell the truth and avoid twisting facts on economy and the inflation during Dr Bakili Muluzi’s time.

The UDF was responding to a speech by President Bingu wa Mutharika during the DPP convention who said he inherited the inflation rate at 17.1 percent when he entered office in May 2004.

Director of research for the UDF, Humphrey Mvula said the President must avoid politicking on issues that can be challenged.

He told Nyasa Times in an interview that President Mutharika must have been misinformed on the figures or that the one who put up the Presidential speech must have missed some points.

“Presidents do not lie but I believe that the [Mutharika] missed facts because the truth of the matter is that the President knows that he found inflation at slightly over 8 percent when he took office on May 20, 2004,” said Mvula.

“The information that he has chained out on inflation is grossly inaccurate,” said Mvula.

The researcher said Mutharika must learn to appreciate other positive developments and achievements that were gained during Muluzi’s time.

He said it is a fact that the road to debt cancellation started with Muluzi’s way of managing the economy.

“Malawi qualified for the first debt cancellation in 2000 and in 2005 the country attained the first debt completion stage,” said Mvula adding that without the process that started in 2000 Malawi could have never reached this stage.

He also said blaming Muluzi alone for the economy during his reign is absurd saying President Mutharika and some of the people in the present government were part of the team that was in charge of the economy.

Mvula said the current finance minister Goodall Gondwe was the chief economic advisor for Muluzi and advisor to the ministry of finance and that President Mutharika himself was the minister of economic planning and development in Muluzi cabinet.

“In between the reign of Dr Muluzi as president the ministers of finance had rotated s follows; the first one Aleke Banda, the current vice president of the country Dr Cassim Chilumpha, Professor Mathews Chikaonda an expert economist and financer, Friday Jumbe renowned economist and specialist in money markets and to add impetus to it we had President Mutharika as minister of economic planning,” said Mvula.

“Now faulting the economy during Muluzi’s time is faulting the capabilities of these honorable sons of the country and trashing the former economy is actually trashing the present government because a good number of officials in Muluzi’s government are in Mutharika’s government,” Mvula said.

The economy has become one subject of debate as the country is expected to elect a new President and Parliament on May 19.

Labels: ECONOMY, MALAWI, UDF

posted by MrK @ 1:54 AM