By Kingsley Jassi:

Malawi’s debt transparency is on the spotlight as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterates a call for improved debt statistics presentation and reporting.

This is contained in a technical report which was released on Thursday.

The report followed a Data Quality Assessment for Public Sector Debt Statistics Mission between January 29 and February 2025.

Calculating from the figures as provided by the Ministry of Finance, the report estimates public debt to have risen from 48 percent in 2020 to 93 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by March 2024.

The mission’s assessment, for instance, found that unguaranteed borrowing by public institutions by March 2024 was at K300 billion while payables by local councils were at K15 billion.

The fund urges that all debt in the public sector must be guaranteed by the Treasury and be part of the reported public debt, pursuant to Public Sector Debt Sustainability (PSDS) standards and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

“Extend the sector coverage of the core PSDS reports through the inclusion of local government debts and the non-guaranteed borrowing of extra-budgetary units and public corporations,” the report recommends.

It adds that debt reporting should be using nominal valuation, including interests accrued, and that as the sector coverage expands the data should be presented on a consolidated basis.

The fund further calls for expansion of debt reports to include internationally standardised tables which present the PSDS by instrument, creditor residency, original maturity, residual maturity and currency over an extended period.

The IMF has since urged the Treasury to issue quarterly public debt reports with standard and consistent presentation of graphs and charts for the purpose of statistical comparison by the public.

In a letter, Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni said the Treasury already started processes towards the recommended debt reporting standards and frequency.

“The Government of Malawi is committed to implementing r e commendations provided by the IMF Mission to enhance the quality, coverage and accessibility of our public sector debt statistics.

“We recognise that these improvements are essential for effective debt management informed policy decision and improved fiscal transparency,” Tchereni said.