1 Kwacha

Malawi's shift to brass-plated steel for this issue reflected the broader economic pressures the country faced through the 1990s, when the kwacha lost substantial value following the end of single-party rule under Hastings Banda and the difficult transition to multiparty democracy after 1994. The Reserve Bank's cost-cutting on coinage composition was a direct consequence of IMF structural adjustment conditions applied during that period.