Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has said revenue collection is going to be a challenge amid the coronavirus outbreak posing serious threats on budget implementation during the last half of the financial year.
MRA Commissioner General, Gray Thom Malata, acknowledged that the disease has affected economies world over and it will be difficult for the authority to correct enough revenue.
He however, did not predict magnitude of the impact.
“We are yet to asses but it will be a challenge for everyone as you know the whole world is affected so our supply chains as a country are being affected,” Malata said.
Commenting on the development, Chancellor College economics Professor, Ben Kalua, said currently, the economy is under siege from a lot of fronts.
“The coronavirus has a lot of implications on many things not just travel but also passage of goods across our borders. That will affect production capacity heavily in agriculture as well as manufacturing sectors so Malawi economy should expect a big hit,” Kalua said.
A recent survey conducted by the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry on the impact of corona virus on businesses in Malawi show that the country is susceptible to pressure than before.
Key on the threats-list include disturbance of trade links with rest of the world, disruption of global value chains and fiscal expenditure.
