Malawi's Joice Banda hit by travel restrictions

The Malawi government has announced that it is restricting local and international travel for all government officials, including the president, following the withdrawal of budgetary support by donors, the Daily Monitor reported.

Development partners recently announced they are withholding aid to the southeastern Africa nation in reaction to its government's slow and unsatisfactory response to a corruption scandal in several ministries. The Malawi government had earlier announced that it lost about $50 million to theft in just months.

The new Minister of Finance, Maxwell Mkwezalamba, announced that government officials will only be allowed to travel to attend critical government engagements, with exception to fully funded trips.

Mr Mkwezalamba said the travel restriction affects all government offices.

In the case of the President, the Office of the President and Cabinet will be required to justify the need for the president and vice president to travel.

"It should be noted that the restriction is with immediate effect," Mr Mkwezalamba said.

"Ministerial delegations will be restricted to maximum of three, and the allocation of pool vehicles has also been restricted to maximum of three."

However, it remains to be seen how the presidency will respond to the restrictions considering that President Joyce Banda has gained a reputation for her frequent travels. Earlier this year a columnist criticized the president and her entourage for "hopping from one capital to the other, attending meetings and talk shows whose immediate value to all Malawians is hard to fathom."

In addition, President Banda has of recent graced events organized by her initiative - 'A cow per family' - which distributes cattle to poor people across the country.

It is estimated that each inland trip by the president costs about $87,500.