MEFMI Assists Malawi in Developing a Debt Management Strategy

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of Malawi formulated a Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) with technical assistance from MEFMI during a workshop held from 21 to 25 November 2022 in Lilongwe. The strategy will guide the government’s financing and debt management decisions in the medium term.

The strategy was developed through the application of the IMF/World Bank MTDS Analytical Tool. Resource persons presented on the eight (8) steps of debt strategy development. Participants underwent practical exercises on the analysis of the debt portfolio cost and risk indicators, to enhance their understanding of the key concepts covered during the presentations.

The main output of the workshop was a draft MTDS document that was presented to senior Government officials, including the Director of the Budget Division, Acting Director of Debt and Aid Management Division and other officials. A total of 18 Government and Reserve Bank of Malawi staff were trained on developing a debt management strategy using the IMF/World Bank MTDS Analytical Tool. MEFMI expects these officials to develop debt management strategies for Malawi in the future with minimal external technical assistance.

The workshop was facilitated by three (3) resource persons, comprising an independent consultant (Mr. Juan Carlos Vilanova Pardo), a regional debt management expert (Mr. Paul Sikazwe of the Bank of Zambia) and a MEFMI staff (Mrs. Cristina Dimande)

By Cristina Dimande