Source of Bingu's economics

 

There is one point highlighted by all news agencies covering Malawi, namely that Bingu once worked for the World Bank. This is true but the fact of the matter is that intellectually Bingu is very much a product of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the regional organisations he has worked for.  This shows up in his often quite unorthodox economic policies (fertiliser subsidies, interventions in auction floor pricing, plans to set up investment bank, focus on infrastructure etc). His belief in the Nsanje port  and thinking about regional infrastructure quite clearly come from his having been  head of COMESA.  I suppose the World Bank moniker is more reassuring to donors and foreign investors but it does not do full justice to the man's understanding of development.