By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Malawi for emergency financing to the tune of $88.3 as the country faces shortage of foreign currency.
The deal is subject to approval when the Executive Board of IMF meets on the matter in coming days.
Malawi which is set to be the first African country to receive special IMF financing to deal with the global inflation crisis is at the moment facing long petrol queues at fuel stations running out of product due to lack of forex to make purchases.
The IMF in a statement said the money would help Malawi address urgent balance of payments needs, and support economic adjustment and structural reforms.
“This emergency financing under the new Food Shock Window will help Malawi address urgent balance of payments needs related to the global food crisis. Program Monitoring with Board involvement will support the government’s economic reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and provide the foundation for an inclusive recovery.
“Malawi’s request will be discussed by the IMF’s Executive Board as soon as possible. Malawi is implementing a comprehensive debt restructuring needed to restore debt sustainability. A credible process for the debt restructuring would need to be underway prior to the IMF Executive Board’s consideration” the statement read in part.
Under the “Food Shock Window” programme, Ukraine received $1.3 billion earlier this month.
