By Joseph Dumbula
Malawi has sold gold from its international reserves and requested a $120 million loan from Afreximbank to finance fuel purchases.
This is according to Information Minister Shadric Namalomba.
Namalomba indicated that the conflict in Iran has exacerbated the foreign exchange shortage in the Southern African nation.
He informed the Nation that fuel suppliers are now insisting on cash payments.
“We have sold some of the gold that RBM (the Reserve Bank of Malawi) had in stock and utilized a portion of the foreign exchange from the gold sale to pay $30 million, allowing us to collect fuel from the ports,” Namalomba is quoted as stating.
Namalomba mentioned that the government anticipates Afreximbank will disburse $120 million within a week to alleviate stock shortages.
In recent years, Malawi has faced recurrent fuel shortages, which were a significant concern during last year’s elections.
The situation had improved under President Peter Mutharika, who secured victory in September’s election, but the conflict in Iran has led to the re-emergence of long queues at petrol stations.
