Goodall Gondwe

Gondwe was appointed to the position of Minister of Finance in June 2004 by President Bingu wa Mutharika. He has been credited for Malawi's success during Mutharika's first term.[3] His economic development policies, together with Mutharika, helped drastically improve the economic situation in the country. Under his stewardship the rate of inflation fell from 30% in 2005 to 6% by 2008. More importantly Malawi saw its economy grow by approximately 6 percent. Malawi is a relatively small economy due to its low natural resources compared to its neighbours like Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In 2008 Gondwe was voted as Africa’s Finance Minister of the Year at the African Banker Awards, held at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington DC, USA. The Nyasa Times of Malawi calls him the “Engine room for Malawi economic achievements."[4]”

Gondwe played a primary role in negotiating the contract and agreement with the Australian uranium mining company Paladin Energy, which was Malawi's first uranium mining company.[5] Gondwe noted that the exploration of uranium would boost the country’s export base.[6] The revenue for the uranium was projected to exceed proceeds from tobacco, Malawi's main foreign exchange earner. During this time, the Minister of Energy and Mining was Henry Chimunthu Banda.[7] The uranium project also promised to transform the under-developed Kayelekera which is in the underdeveloped northern region by turning it into a prosperous town. It was expected to create jobs for 800 people during the construction and 280 people during the operation.[7] The project and Paladin Energy, however, has received some criticism for labor, health and environmental risks by the public.

Following the May 2009 general election, Mutharika reshuffled his cabinet and Gondwe's portfolio, moving him from Minister of Finance to Minister of Local Government. He was replaced as Minister of Finance by Ken Kandodo, nephew of former President Hastings Banda, who was later replaced after nationwide strikes against economic mismanagement and the unveiling of his Zero Deficit Budget.[8]

On August 1, 2011 he was appointed as Vice-President of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) by the party's National Governing Council. Shortly after this he was appointed as Minister of Natural Resources.

In October 2012, Gondwe announced he would be resigning from the DPP and retiring from politics altogether at the 2014 general elections.[9] However, Gondwe was again appointed as Minister of Finance by President Peter Mutharika in June 2014.[10]