The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says there are no immediate plans to devalue the Malawi Kwacha, a statement that puts to bed fears from the citizenry following the recent general election that ushered the new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.

RBM Governor Dr. Macdonald Mafuta Mwale told journalists in Lilongwe on Monday that there is no reason for a currency devaluation as the central bank is working with commercial banks to  support the country's production sector.

Dr. Mwale has seriously warned commercial banks to avoid foreign exchange malpractices that would fuel parallel market activities.

The Governor also explained that following discussions which Finance Minister, Joseph Mwanamveka had discussions with all development partners, there is a strong commitment to support Malawi in finding sustainable solutions for addressing fuel, fertiliser, food and forex issues.

"We are very committed in complying with our  strategy that focuses on enhancing export performance and foreign exchange reserves," he added.

Economist Christopher Mbukwa has however tipped RBM to focus on modalities that resscascitate the country's economy.

"We need to align the Kwacha with the market value by devaluing it but it may lead to serious implications like rise in commodities and the second option is robust investment in production and identifying prospective markets for our produce," Mbukwa said.

There has been general public fear that the new DPP government may devalue the Malawi Kwacha to align the gap between the conventional bank rate that is pegged around K1, 750 per dollar against K5, 500 which was the rate before general elections.

The fears were also amplified by the recent fuel hike which authorities said was triggered to align with real value of fuel on the global market using the automatic fuel pricing mechanism.