Malawi’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Malawi, says it will resume the rationing of foreign exchange (forex) to contain shortage of money next month.

The bank’s governor Perks Ligoya says the move is aimed at containing shortage of foreign money in the country, according to Thursday’s The Nation.

Malawi has for the past year suffered from erratic availability of forex which some analysts have attributed to the country’s president Bingu wa Mutharika’s globetrotting.

The move is scheduled to start on September 1.

“Importation of goods into Malawi whose value is in excess of $50,000 or equivalent in any other currency shall require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of Malawi,” the paper quotes Ligoya as saying in a circular.

“Authorised dealer banks will, therefore, submit requisite applications to import goods to Reserve Bank of Malawi and such applications shall be accompanied by current profoma invoice and import licence.”

The bank adds that importation of all services into the country shall also require prior approval and that authorised dealer banks shall submit applications to import to the central bank.

“All applications to pay for imports into Malawi whose value is in excess of $50,000 or the equivalent in any other currency shall require prior approval of the Reserve Bank of Malawi.”

Sanje Msiska