The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission team expects the economic reforms the government has undertaken will gain traction but cautions that challenges remain.

The IMF adviser at the African Department, Mika Saito, said this on Friday at a meeting with key private and public sector stakeholders, including Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex  Chithyola-Banda and Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni tomark the end of the IMF team’s visit to Malawi.

She said in a statement posted on the fund’s website that the Bretton Woods institution expects growth as measured by gross domestic product to rebound to 3.3 percent, more than double the 1.6 percent projected in last year’s estimations.

The IMF mission lead further said the delegation also discussed the authorities’ progress in implementing macroeconomic adjustment and reforms under the ECF-supported programme signed in November last year.

It reads: “These efforts will be formally assessed in the context of the first review of the ECF arrangement, which is expected to take place in the summer.

“We underscored the importance of staying the course with the programme to restore macroeconomic stability, a necessary condition to build a foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth and resilience to climate-related shocks.”

IMF resident representative for Malawi Nelnan Koumtingué said the IMF teams based its growth projection on the country’s recovery from a series of shocks, including Cyclone Freddy and the Cholera outbreak and the positive track record it established during the previous IMF Staff Monitored Programme with Limited Board Involvement (PMB).

Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs were not readily available for comment but Chithyola-Banda said in an earlier interview that the funds unlocked by the ECF programme would provide resources to catalyse local economic growth.

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