..Focuses on economic, development growth rebounds and easing inflation….
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha has presented a MK10.978 trillion national budget for the 2026/2027 financial year, themed, “Driving Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth through Impactful Reforms and Fiscal Consolidation.”
Presenting a review of the 2026/2027 financial year, Mwanamvekha said reform measures announced during the mid-year budget review have moved beyond policy pronouncements to concrete action.
He reported that Malawi’s 2025 food balance sheet estimates maize supply at 2.7 million metric tons against a national requirement of 3.72 million metric tons, leaving a deficit of 1.02 million metric tons.
As of February 2026, strategic grain reserves stood at 81,576.75 metric tons.
Total revised grants from foreign governments and international organisations remain at K983 billion for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
Meanwhile, total expenditure, initially projected at K8.589 trillion, is now expected to close at K8.431 trillion, reflecting an under-expenditure.
The minister projected real GDP growth to rise from 2.7 percent in 2025 to 3.8 percent in 2026 and 4.9 percent in 2027.
Inflation, which has remained high since 2021 due to food and foreign exchange constraints, declined from 32.3 percent in 2024 to 28.5 percent in 2025.
It is expected to ease further to 15 percent by the end of the 2026/27 financial year, signalling improving macroeconomic stability.