VZCZCXRO5868
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLG #0489/01 2440932
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010932Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY LILONGWE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0733
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0394
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASH DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 0037

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LILONGWE 000489 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR AF WATCHER P. LORD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2019 
TAGS: EFIN EAID PGOV MI
SUBJECT: MALAWI: CURRENCY PEG PROMPTS BALANCE OF PAYMENTS 
CRUNCH 
 
REF: A. LILONGWE 283 
     ¶B. LILONGWE 387 
 
LILONGWE 00000489  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Charge Kevin K. Sullivan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Malawi's foreign exchange reserves have 
dipped below the level of one month's import coverage, 
prompting central bank officials to request urgent donor 
assistance.  The IMF has plans to send a new mission to 
Malawi in October, but the Fund wants to see a coherent GOM 
exchange rate strategy before offering additional support. 
The Malawian Kwacha has been informally pegged at 141 per 
dollar for over two years and market experts believe it is 
overvalued by at least 20 percent.  Reserve Bank officials 
are already rationing foreign exchange through private banks, 
and reports suggest that the scarcity of forex has put a 
number of investment projects on hold.  President Mutharika 
has defied expectations that he would allow some exchange 
rate adjustment following the May 2009 national elections, 
arguing that devaluation would spark inflation and hurt 
ordinary Malawians.  Private sector observers agree that 
devaluation would harm some businesses and create 
inflationary pressures, but see little alternative. 
Increasing shortages of imported products in Malawi may also 
ratchet up the pressure on Malawi's Economist in Chief.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
FOREX DOWN TO ONE MONTH COVERAGE 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) High-level officials at the Reserve Bank of Malawi, 
the country's central bank, told the Ambassador and emboffs 
on Aug. 27 that Malawi's foreign exchange reserves had 
dwindled to a level sufficient to offer less than one month's 
import cover.  Deputy Governor Mary Nkosi noted that the 
scarcity of foreign exchange was occurring at precisely the 
time of year -- the end of the tobacco auction season -- when 
Malawi's reserves usually peak.  (Note: Over the past several 
years the Bank has generally maintained reserves at between 
two and three months' import cover, with annual fluctuations 
responding to the country's agricultural cycle.  Foreign aid, 
including both project-based and direct budget support, 
constitute Malawi's main source of forex apart from tobacco 
receipts.  End note.)  The officials indicated that the 
Reserve Bank had been forced to ration what hard currency was 
available for priority transactions involving fuel and 
fertilizer imports, pharmaceuticals and capital goods and 
inputs for manufacturing.  For private transactions, the Bank 
relied upon commercial banking partners to prioritize among 
their many clients.  Bank officials acknowledged that some 
corruption was likely occurring during this rationing process. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
SPECULATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH BOTH FACTORS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Wilson Banda, chief of the Bank's Operations 
Division, claimed that a good portion of the increased demand 
for hard currency was due to market speculation. 
Expectations that a devaluation would follow soon after 
Malawi's national elections in May had put pressure on the 
kwacha since early in the year, and that pressure had 
intensified as speculators saw no devaluation had occurred, 
and that reserve levels remained low late into the tobacco 
season.  Banda admitted, however, that a good part of the 
demand for forex was genuine rather than speculative. 
Malawi's strong economic growth in recent years had increased 
the demand for imports of both consumption and investment 
goods.  This consistent growth was clearly a positive 
development, Banda argued, and should not be punished by 
Malawi's development partners.  The Reserve Bank official 
noted that decline in global tobacco prices during this same 
period meant that the current account deficit would 
inevitably widen.  Banda noted ruefully that a new uranium 
mining project had not yielded the forex benefits that the 
Bank had anticipated because of the way the company, 
Palladin, had structured its finance and marketing 
operations. 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
LILONGWE 00000489  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
PRESIDENT DIGS IN ON EXCHANGE RATE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Deputy Governor Nkosi observed that President Bingu 
wa Mutharika, who was reelected in a landslide in May (ref 
A), had stated publicly after the election that "the exchange 
rate will not move."  (Note: While Malawi's 1993 constitution 
assigns the Reserve Bank exclusive authority for managing 
Malawi's foreign exchange and monetary policy, the Executive 
Branch has routinely played a decisive role in these 
policies.  End Note.)  In line with the President's thinking, 
Banda argued that Malawi would gain little through a 
devaluation.  He claimed that an exchange rate adjustment 
would be unlikely to affect either the supply of dollars or 
the demand for them significantly.  He pointed out that most 
of Malawi's dollar purchases were for fuel, fertilizer and 
other essential items.  Pressing for a decline in demand for 
dollars was tantamount to slowing the economic growth that 
the country needed, he claimed. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Banda asked for the Ambassador's assistance in 
accelerating inflows from the IMF and other donors to 
alleviate pressure on the Kwacha.  The Ambassador replied 
that donors were unlikely to dedicate additional resources to 
support what most observers considered a significantly 
over-valued exchange rate.  When DCM pointed out that an IMF 
Mission was due in Malawi in October, Banda argued that the 
Fund was moving much too slowly given Malawi's needs. 
 
------------------------------------- 
IMF: NO MORE SUPPORT WITHOUT STRATEGY 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) IMF Resident Representative (ResRep) Maitland 
MacFarlane told DCM Aug. 27 that the Fund's plans for an 
October mission to Malawi were on hold.  He noted that 
Malawi's current Fund facility was due to conclude in 
December, and that the GOM had expressed an interest in a 
new, medium-term facility thereafter.  The problem was that 
the GOM had broken the fundamental commitments it had given 
to the Fund in order to secure its current program, including 
one to allow some adjustment in the exchange rate after the 
May election.  These commitments had been made by former 
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe to the IMF's deputy Managing 
Director earlier in 2009.  Gondwe had since been replaced by 
Ken Kandodo, and the only word from the GOM post-election had 
been the President's public vow to uphold the current 
kwacha/dollar rate. 
 
¶7. (SBU) MacFarlane explained that the Fund would not dictate 
to any country what its exchange rate should be, but would 
require a set of economic policies that would be consistent 
with a given rate.  In the case of Malawi, he said, such 
policies would necessarily include budget cuts equivalent to 
roughly 2 percent of its GDP -- something the GOM has shown 
no inclination to pursue (ref B).  The Resrep told DCM that 
the IMF would not send out a full mission to negotiate a new 
facility with the GOM until the GOM articulated a coherent 
strategy for whatever exchange rate regime it wished to 
implement.  He noted that the GOM had recently canceled a 
meeting that had been scheduled for President Mutharika with 
the Fund's Deputy Managing Director in September, dashing 
hopes that the meeting might provide the necessary high-level 
commitments and policy direction to underpin a new program 
for Malawi.  The only other such opportunity on the horizon 
would be the Annual IMF Board meetings scheduled for early 
October in Istanbul.  Absent a clear policy framework, 
MacFarlane suggested the Fund might send its new Malawi 
director, Jane Stotsky to engage the GOM in a general way, 
but without a team or mandate to negotiate a new program. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
PRIVATE SECTOR: DISRUPTION AND UNCERTAINTY 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Several of the Malawian financial sector's major 
players shared with emboffs their concerns about the future 
of Malawi's informally fixed exchange rate.  Most believed 
that some adjustment was inevitable, though some hoped the 
President would continue to hold firm.  Those favoring the 
status quo said they agreed with the President's arguments 
 
LILONGWE 00000489  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
that 1) devaluation would bring higher inflation; and 2) many 
businesses might go under, and economic growth would be 
compromised.  A majority favored some kind of gradual 
adjustment of the dollar rate to relieve chronic shortages of 
hard currency, and to provide incentives for the kind of 
capital investments that could increase Malawi's capacity to 
increase exports in the longer term.  Matthews Chikoanda, the 
chairman of one of Malawi's largest conglomerates and a 
former minister of finance, reported that even existing 
investments, such his company's cellular telephone company, 
could not reliably access dollars to expand their 
infrastructure.  Figures released by the Malawi Confederation 
of Chambers of Commerce and Industry show that over $50 
million was owed to foreign suppliers, and accumulating 
interest charges, at the end of June 2009. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Asked who was making economic policy in the 
President's new government, most private sector leaders were 
at a loss.  Most suspected the President, who is an 
economist, was making most major decisions himself. 
Chikoanda claimed that Mutharika was getting conflicting 
advice from advisors about the exchange rate, and no longer 
had the authoritative voice of former Finance Minister Gondwe 
to sort through competing notions.  He noted that the GOM had 
been unable to recruit a replacement for the Governor of the 
Reserve Bank, who had left the position in June.  Other 
business leaders wondered aloud who would be willing to take 
the job under current conditions.  Chikoanda also suggested 
that for its part, the IMF was now poorly positioned to put 
pressure on the GOM for better policies after it had 
basically given President Mutharika a pass in the run up to 
elections.  Another banker remarked that while the Fund had 
given Malawi roughly $80 million dollars in support earlier 
in the year, the package was quite small compared with those 
given to other African countries, and reflected concerns 
about Malawi's situation. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
FOREX BUREAUS CLOSED, SMUGGLERS ARRESTED 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Instead of devaluing the kwacha to reduce demand 
for dollars, or offering a solid economic justification for 
maintaining the current exchange rate the GOM, and Mutharika 
personally, has engaged in high-profile public criticism of 
'unscrupulous' foreign exchange bureaus and illegal currency 
smugglers.  Increased police operations against black market 
traders and smugglers since the election have resulted in the 
arrest of two Chinese nationals carrying large amounts of 
dollars at Lilongwe's international airport.  On August 3 the 
RBM closed nearly all formerly legal foreign exchange 
bureaus. (Comment:  It is unlikely that smuggling is 
occurring on a scale sufficient to account for Malawi's forex 
shortage.  The GOM's crackdown is most likely intended to 
shift blame for forex shortages away from the government, 
while at the same time asserting additional control over 
trading.  End Comment) 
 
------------------------------------------- 
COMMENT: BINGU THE CONTRARIAN TO BE TESTED 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) President Mutharika has taken pleasure in 
challenging economic orthodoxy on a number of fronts, 
including his signature fertilizer subsidy program and his 
floor prices for agricultural commodities.  His insistence on 
a fixed kwacha dollar rate in the face of mounting balance of 
payments problems is consistent with this contrarian 
approach.  The IMF will face some difficult decisions in the 
coming months concerning whether and how to use its leverage 
to push for greater flexibility and coherence in Malawi's 
exchange rate policy.  Increasing shortages of imported 
products in Malawi may also ratchet up the pressure on 
Malawi's Economist in Chief. 
SULLIVAN