US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE649

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000649 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, EFIN, ECON, PGOV, PREL, MI, Political, Development 
SUBJECT: MUTHARIKA ASSUMES AID TO RESUME 
 
REF: LILONGWE 614 
 
1. (U) Upon arrival from the African Union Summit in Addis 
Ababa, President Bingu wa Mutharika reportedly told the media 
on July 9 that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had 
written to donor governments, instructing them to resume aid 
because the Fund was pleased with Malawi's renewed commitment 
to economic reform.  Indicating that "dollars should come in 
the next 14 days or so,"  Mutharika reportedly said the GOM 
"sees no reason why the British, European Union, and other 
donors should not give us resources." 
 
2. (SBU) Referring to a meeting with British Minister of 
African Affairs Chris Mollen, Mutharika said that Mollen 
supported resumption of aid to Malawi and that Malawi would 
receive "a lion's share" of the new aid the British 
government has promised Africa countries.  Press Officer at 
the British High Commission (BHC) in Lilongwe told poloff 
that no such decision had been made and that the BHC planned 
to have a correction printed. 
 
COMMENT 
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3. (SBU) The President's statements, while possibly a product 
of sloppy journalism, demonstrate the GOM's underlying 
assumption that IFI and direct budgetary support will resume 
in the very near future.  The IMF team arrives on June 14 and 
will present its findings at the end of its two-week visit. 
We find President Mutharika's certainty that aid will soon 
resume to be a useful political stance with no clear economic 
underpinning. 
RASPOLIC