Malawi's parliament approved an 11.5 billion kwacha ($76.26 million) supplementary budget today to aid families hit hard by a drought and support its new commitments after taking over the African Union chairmanship, Reuters reported. The extra budget has increased the 2009/10 national budget to 269.5 billion kwacha from the initial 258 billion kwacha. "This extra budget will help us mitigate the effects of the dry spell that has destroyed crop in nine districts, help us support new commitments for AU chairmanship, and help us repay domestic debt among other demands," Malawi Finance Minister Ken Kandodo told Reuters. A dry spell has wiped out an estimated 30,000 hectares of crop fields and affected 120,000 families in Malawi. The southern African nation's President Bingu wa Mutharika was elected as AU chairman last week, taking over from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Kandodo said the extra budget would also help government implement increments for teachers' salaries.
