His Excellency Dr Lazarus Chakwera,
I have observed that your government has a great concern about the trade deficit due to the imports being more than exports.
The concern exists to either push for depreciation of the Kwacha or floatation of the currency which is quoted in many textbooks as a solution to the trade deficits but they result in our goods and services being greatly undervalued. Selling things at a cheaper price does not always result in increased value gain. I will give an example of the current value of my services in Malawi as a PHP Developer compared to that of a PHP Developer in the USA. We virtually go through the same training yet my services are currently valued at an average of US$8,400/year while in the USA, a person receives US$84,000/year. I find this unfair. If you are opting for depreciation how much cheaper would you want my services to go? $8,400/year does not meet my expenses to finish the month. I have to get an extra from borrowing or from a relative. Furthermore, cheaper does end up looking incompetent. Please stop depreciating the Kwacha. Start appreciating the Kwacha so that our goods and services may trade at a fair international price.
I cannot always complain without suggesting a solution. I observed that Europeans decided to implement a trade policy that is always resulting in a trade surplus. I feel we could do the same as I have outlined in the following short article:
I hope that this will be helpful to Malawi.
Sincerely,
Kondwani Hara.
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