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. 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."”
