A Malawi brief for the 40th Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) ministers’ council has shown that the country has failed to achieve four of Comesa’s primary targets.

According to the brief, Malawi failed to achieve less than 5% inflation, four months import cover, zero Central Bank financing of budget deficit and less than five percent of overall deficit or surplus as a percent of Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

However, the brief acknowledges that Malawi achieved six out of nine secondary targets as the economy consistently maintained an average of 3 months of import coverage mainly on account of low export earnings following a decline in tobacco exports.

On the other hand, the brief outlines that low levels of foreign receipts exerted pressure on domestic revenues. “The stock of gross credit from the central bank to government stood at K519.7 billion as at end September 2019 representing a net repayment of K16.7 billion from K536.4 billion in 2018,” the brief reads.