Malawi president cancel overseas trip to save money

Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika canceled a trip to the Commonwealth heads-of-government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago to set an example on saving the country’s foreign exchange, the presidency said.

“The president will not be going to Trinidad and Tobago as an example to other public servants,” the presidency said in a statement read today on the services of the Malawi Broadcasting Corp. Last week the presidency issued a statement that all overseas trips by Malawian public officials would be restricted to a maximum of six a year and that no trip should exceed 14 days. Malawi’s shortage of foreign currency has resulted in fuel shortages in the southern African country and led to the development of a black-market trade in U.S. dollars where dollars are sold for more Malawian kwacha than the official rate.