Mulopwana wrote:

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I am told Malawi's debt has finally been written off. Members, do you think Bingu's govt will make good use of this money? I know its benefit spans over a period of 25yrs, but a good foundation is important in all types of projects. What do you think members?

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Hmmm. I don't really believe it. Can you post some evidence of it?

Mulopwana wrote:

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The guys worked hard.

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True. They deserve a lot of the credit.

-- Edited by awmygawd at 01:57, 2006-09-03

They worked haerd in reaching the completion point. We were faced with hunger crisis for past 2yrs and for them to spend within limit and reduce on domestic borrowing was a great achievement. Ofcourse there were alot of conditions which we all know. For once Abre give them a big hand.

Follow this link Abre:

http://www.nationmalawi.com/articles.asp?articleID=18428

I hope you now know what we are talking about.

abre les ojos wrote:

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It's a little like telling a forgiving a jobless man his debt. He still doesn't have a job.

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Well said Abre. The jobless man will go back and ask for a new loan.

 

Debt relief cancellation sounds tasty,but what is the catch?malawi is still dependent on new loans and grants and is locked in programmes that give these debtors the upper hand in setting up policies. The debt being cancelled right now should have been cancelled way back,does it mean malawi will be compesated for all the staggering debt payments already made?or are we going to be compesated for damages from colonialism? what about unfair trade practices?

There is still biased trade rules,ever wondered why tobbacco sales are often poor?what about cotton?why cant we export industrial products to these countries?this is because malawi cannot develop industrial products because of pressure from rich countries to allow cheap industrial inports from donor countries.farmer subsidies to the US and UK make it impossible for poor coutries like malawi to compete on an international market,these countries fail to take corrective measures to stop this.

Right now malawi needs a predictacble flow of resources for development,not handouts dependent on donor whim,The IMF is now launching a new microeconomic policy that perpetuates rather than stop poverty,what is that all about?

Well firstly i would like to say bravo to Bingu's Admin this is historic and gives a faint light of hope to Malawi's econominc future, hopefully there will be a trickle down effect in the future. I've noticed many people are still pissimistic however remember the govt will be saving K115 Bilion yearly. The Govt. should open a account and put K115 B yearly for develoment
If they can maintain the current expenditure and invest the savings in infrastructre, tourism,research and development in knowledge based industries, start joint ventures with foreign companys in capital intensive industries. We got to get our economy from an agricultural based to manuafacturing based. This is how the economies in Contries like Singapore/Taiwan/Japan/China have done to get to where they are.
Well less consumpton now and more infrastructre investment leads to sustaned develoment ; simple economics.
Also to get to where we want to be in terms of economic development will depend on the re-election of Bingu in 2009 as he would have a longer time frame to implement his developmet and economic policies.
Honestly we don't need any other administration if we want to see our country progress.
I noticed many are crying out about trade barriers in Europe and the states these are old economies the new ones are now in Asia if we can get our products to the Asian markets especially products they don't produce we will be better off

Before we all get carried away, it's worth remembering that the debt cancellation only frees up 20% or so of MW's annual national budget. Substantial, yes, but there is a limit as to what can be achieved with it. Still, if all the country needed was some breathing space and a starting point from which to build on, this is best opportunity Malawi's had in years.

-- Edited by awmygawd at 02:58, 2006-09-08

When the Kamuzu regime had their debt at a better stand did we benefit anything? It was the Muluzi guys who came and messed it up. Am not putting any cards on this Bingu guy he has a lot of chaff in his cabinet, just wait and see.