By Mercy Matonga:
President Lazarus Chakwera has assented to six bills that were passed during the last meeting of Parliament.
The bills include Bill No. 14 of 2025: Supplementary Appropriation, which was passed by Parliament end March.
The bill in question includes K500.664 billion that represents over-expenditure. The over-expenditure ballooned the 2024-25 national budget from the K5.998 trillion initially approved in March last year to K6.499 trillion.
The final expenditure was about K450 billion more than the K6.048 trillion that had been approved at midyear in October last year.
Presenting the bill to Parliament, Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda attributed the over-expenditure to costs related to pensions and gratuities, natural disasters and other statutory obligations.
He said the current administration was committed to transparency, which is why the figures were presented for parliamentary debate.
Chakwera has also assented to Bill Number 13 of 2025: Appropriation Bill, allowing Chithyola Banda to spend about K8.07 trillion of taxpayers’ money in the 2025-26 national budget.
Kasunda
In a statement released Wednesday, Presidential Press Secretary Antony Kasunda said Chakwera assented to the bills in exercise of the powers vested in him by Section 89 of the Constitution.
These include Bill No. 10 of 2025: International Development Association (Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Malawi [Ascent Malawi] Project Using Multiphase Programmatic Approach Programme [Authorisation and Ratification]); Bill No. 11 of 2025: Taxation (Amendment); Bill No. 12 of 2025: Value Added Tax (Amendment); Bill No. 13 of 2025: Appropriation; Bill No. 14 of 2025: Supplementary Appropriation; and Bill No. 19 of 2025: Foreign Exchange.
Additionally, Chakwera has assented to Bill No. 19 of 2025: Foreign Exchange Bill, which seeks to repeal the Exchange Control Act (Cap. 45:01) of 1984 and replace it with a new Foreign Exchange Act.
Among other provisions, the bill states that a person who is not an authorised dealer shall not buy or borrow foreign currency from anyone other than the bank or an authorised dealer, sell or lend foreign currency to anyone other than the bank or an authorised dealer, exchange foreign currency with anyone other than the bank or an authorised dealer, or facilitate the transfer of funds to, or from, a foreign country without permission from the bank.
