3101) Republic of Malawi (formerly "Nyasaland"): i) About the Republic of Malawi: ii) Evolution of the Kwacha Currency of Independent Malawi: iii) The 5000 Kwacha Banknote introduced in 24.02.2022:
i) About the Republic of Malawi:
Malawi is a landlocked country in South-east Africa that was formerly called "Nyasaland". Malawi is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa".
The name "Malawi" derives from "Maravi", an old name of the Nyasa people, that inhabit this area.
It is bordered by Zambia to the North-west, Tanzania to the North-east and Mozambique on the East, South & West.
It’s a mountainous country, mostly agricultural with some mineral deposits.
Its capital is Lilongwe, the largest city in Malawi. Of the country's total land area of about 118,000 square kilometres, Lake Malawi covers about one-third of the territory.
Malawi has had a long and complicated history. This country is still very young as far as nations go, and its people have gone through some difficult times. But the economy has grown steadily since independence and poverty rates have decreased steadily too.
The territories comprising present day Malawi were occupied by a small group of hunter-gatherers.
Around the 10th Century, the territory of Malawi was settled by waves of migrating Bantu people.
By 1500 AD, the ethnic groups/tribes established the Kingdom of Marawi that extended from North of present day Nkhotakota to the Zambezi River and from Lake Lalawi to the Luangwa River in present day Zambia.
By 1600 AD, the Empire flourished, under one ruler, with trade and bartering exchanges and alliances with the Portuguese traders.
By 1700, the Empire broke down into several ethnic groups controlled areas.
Around the mid-1800 AD, the Arab Slave Trade reached its zenith and around 20,000-30,000 persons were enslaved and transported from Nkhotakota to Kilwa and sold as slaves.
In 1859, missionary & scout/explorer David Livingstone travelled upto Lake Nyasa (present day Lake Malawi) and identified areas for colonialization (the "Shire Highlands"). His trip brought about the establishment of several other Anglican & Presbyterian missions and the setting up of the "African Lakes Company Limited" (1988) which was set up as a trade and transport at Blantyre enterprise to work closely with the missions.
Britain colonised Malawi in the late 1800’s and ruled it until it became independent. They built large plantations to grow cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and tea.
In 1883, a British Consul was posted at this settlement.
In 1889, a British Protectorate was proclaimed over the Shire Highlands.
In 1891, the Protectorate territories were extended to include the whole of present day Malawi in the name of "British Central Africa Protectorate" and renamed "Nyasaland".
In 1953, Nyasaland, which was hitherto a Protectorate of the United Kingdom, became a Protectorate of the semi-independent "Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland".
In 1963, this Federation was dissolved.
In 1964, the Protectorate over Nyasaland was ended and the country became independent acquiring a new name "Malawi", but still under Queen Elizabeth II.
Malawi achieved independence on 06.07.1964.
Hastings Banda was president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 and ruled as a one-party state until 1994, when he was forced to step down after losing elections.
In 1966, Malawi became a Republic.
As usually seen all over the British Empire, the British left an impoverished nation which ranks among the least developed countries in the world.
Present day Malawi suffers from low life expectancy and high infant mortality. Several programmes have been undertaken by the Malawian government to improve education, improving agriculture, healthcare, environmental protection, building up the economy etc. which are showing some good results.
ii) Currency of the Republic of Malawi:
The currency of Malawi is the Kwacha subdivided into 100 Tambala supervised by the Central Bank of Malawi:
In 1971, the Kwacha replaced the British Malawi Pound, the South African Rand and the Rhodesian Dollar which were hitherto circulating in Malawi.
The first Banknotes introduced in that year were 50 Tambala, K1 (One Kwacha), K2 (Two Kwacha) and K10 (Ten Kwacha).
The name Kwacha was first used in Zambia where the Zambian Kwacha was introduced in 1968.
This term is derived from the "Chinyanja" (or "Chichewa") word meaning "it has dawned", while "Tambala" means "Rooster" in Chichewa. The
Tambala is so named because "a hundred roosters announce the new dawn" (symbolising the "Dawn of Freedom in Malawi from the British yoke").
In 1973, the K2 Banknote was discontinued and a K5 (5 Kwacha) Banknote was circulated.
In 1983, a K20 (20 Kwacha) Banknote was introduced into circulation.
In 1986, the 50 Tambala Banknotes were last issued.
In 1992, the printing of K1 (1 Kwacha) Banknotes was stopped.
In 1993, K50 (50 Kwacha) Banknotes were introduced.
In 1995, a K200 (200 Kwacha) Banknote denomination was introduced.
In 2001, a K500 (500 Kwacha) Banknote was put into circulation.
In 2016, a K2000 (2000 Kwacha) Banknote denomination was circulated to ease desperate cash shortages.
The banknote denominations until 2022 were 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 Kwacha. The banknotes are very colourful and feature notable members of Malawian society. In addition to notable landmarks as well as fauna and flora.
Since then, higher value Kwacha denominations have been progressively introduced, without necessarily reviewing the series in terms of technological Banknote design trends, financial implications of Banknote procurement, economic developments and historical aspects et al.
Banknote Review in 2007:
In 2007, the Banknote issue underwent a review which was necessitated primarily for the following reasons -
- To minimise currency production costs and increase operational efficiency.
- To modernise Banknote designs in line with changing international trends and adopting new technology features that enhance durability of the Banknotes.
- Adopting user friendly recognition features like raised dots and enlarged fonts for the visually challenged persons.
- To improve security of the Banknotes against modern counterfeiting technologies.
- Consequently, as a result of the currency review exercise, Banknote printing costs per denomination have been considerably reduced.
The Banknote themes -
The themes of the new Series of Banknotes have largely been derived from the long-term objectives outlined in the Malawi Growth and Development strategy (MDGS), some of which are also highlighted in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The 2012 Series of Banknotes:
This Banknote series was issued as a result of the Banknote Review carried out by the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
The new MALAWI 5000 KWACHA Banknote:
In mid 2022 the Reserve Bank of Malawi introduced a 5000 Kwacha banknote.
This makes it the largest denomination banknote for Malawi.
The predominant colours of this banknote are in shades of purple, green and yellow.
The Front of the 5000 Kwacha Banknote features a portrait of Hastings Kamuza Banda who served as prime minister also the first president of Malawi.
In addition, there is a map of Malawi, and a fish, as well as the Reserve Bank of Malawi bank seal and sun.
Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 - 11/1997):
He was the father and founder of Malawi and architect of the country's post-colonial Nation. He served as Prime Minister (1963 - 1966), President (1966 - 1971) and Life President (1971-1994).
He was one of the leading Pan-Africanists to come out of post-War Africa and an arch-critic of the Central African Federation of which Malawi (then Nyasaland) became a part from 1953 to 1963. He led the country's independence struggle through the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) and then the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
After independence, he dedicated himself in re-building the new nation and coined the motto "Unity, Loyalty, Obedience and Discipline", which underlined the importance of national unity and the spirit of hard work. He actively supported and promoted women's rights, education and health services.
The Back of the 5000 Kwacha Banknote features a large image of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, RBM bank seal, map, pile of banknotes and two people playing the drums and dancing.
Among the prominent features on this Banknote are:
On the Front:
English text; Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda; Malawi map; SPARK Live fish; fishermen in boat; Malawi map as registration device.
On the Back:
English text; Malawi map; silhouette of two people; bank logo; Malawi map; Reserve Bank of Malawi branch office in Blantyre.
Watermark: Hastings Kamuzu Banda and electrotype 5000
Additional Security: Micromirror LEAD foil holographic stripe
Printer: Giesecke & Devrient
Size: 135.00 mm x 66.00 mm
Cotton Paper
(The above 5000 Kwacha Banknote is from the Collection of Jayant Biswas. Post researched and written and Banknote scanned by Rajeev Prasad)
Links to Posts on the Republic of Malawi:
Links to Posts on Guyana:
1) A $500 (Five Hundred Dollars) Banknote issued by the Bank of Guyana
Links to Posts on Turks and Caicos Islands:
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
For some other interesting posts on Currencies of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, please visit the following links:
18) Sea Motifs, Bahamas: Gold Bullion Coins in the denominations of 100 Dollars (depicting a Blue Marlin) and 250 Dollars (depicting a Conch Shell): Coins issue date: 03.12.2019
19) A new Generation $100 Polymer Banknote, Trinidad and Tobago with enhanced security features to "raise the bar" for counterfeiters & unscrupulous elements: Banknote circulation date: 09.12.2019:
20) Festival di Tumba (Carnival of Curacao), Curacao: "50th Edition of the Curacao Carnival/Festival" held from 27-31.01.2020: A set of six Commemorative Postage Stamps brought out by Cpost (Curacao Post) on 20.02.2020
21) New Polymer Banknotes, Trinidad and Tobago: The entire series will consist of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 denominations: $100 has already been issued on 09.12.2019
Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
26) A new 100 Boliviano Banknote from Bolivia: issued by the "Banco Centrale de Bolivia" (Central Bank of Bolivia) on 15.01.2019 under its new 2018 Banknote Series
27) Central Bank of Uruguay ("Banco Centrale del Uruguay"): 50th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) - 1967-2017 - celebrated with the issue of a 50 Peso Commemorative Banknote on 14.09.2018
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
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