Malawi’s Banda Reverses Policy Mistakes to Lure Donors
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Malawian President Joyce Banda is dismantling the policies of her predecessor that stopped aid to one of Africa’s poorest nations and plunged the country into a political and fiscal crisis.
It’s working. The International Monetary Fund on June 6 agreed to lend Africa’s second-biggest tea producer $157 million and the U.K., Malawi’s largest donor, has restored relations with the country. Just two months after succeeding Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office, Banda has devalued the currency, promised to cut spending and scrap anti-gay laws condemned by human rights groups and leaders such as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and South African President Jacob Zuma.