MALAWI: Chakwera’s Multi-Billion Expenditures & more – 25th Nov 2025

Muli bwanji from Islington! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 25th of November twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

The government introduced new tax measures during the presentation of the twenty twenty-five/twenty twenty-six Mid-Year Budget Review Statement on Friday the 21st.

Joseph Mwanamvekha, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, increased the Value Added Tax from 16.5 percent to 17.5 percent, and said the tax-free bracket for Pay As You Earn or PAYE had been increased from 150 thousand Kwacha, nearly ninety dollars, to 170 thousand, about 100 dollars. Those earning from 170 thousand to 1.5 million Kwacha (865 dollars) would pay thirty percent of the PAYE tax, while those in other tax brackets would pay between 35 and 40 percent tax.

The government also introduced a 0.05 percent tax on bank-to-bank and mobile money transfers, a 35 percent tax on stock market income, and new taxes on betting wins and rentals for residential properties.

The new measures are yet to be made official, but people are worried that the cost of living will increase significantly because of them.

The government’s new fiscal policies will also affect tourists and foreign travellers.

During his presentation, the Finance Minister announced that Malawi had revoked its visa-free policy with immediate effect. The government had introduced the visa-free policy in February twenty twenty-four for seventy-nine countries, such as the UK, Canada, and Germany, and for members of the Southern African Development Community.

But now, nationals of foreign countries will pay the same visa fees that their countries charge Malawians.

The move has sparked mixed reactions, with some saying it will harm Malawi’s tourism, while others feel the government is only treating other countries the way it is treated.

During one of its sessions, the parliament proposed the Constituency Development Fund Bill, which will take local councils’ control over constituency development funds and give it to Members of Parliament.

However, on Monday the 24th, the Malawi Local Government Association and civil society organizations such as the National Advocacy Platform, threatened to go to court and take to the streets if parliament passes the bill.

They argue that the motion is unlawful, since it violates current laws that separate powers between legislators and councils. They also think that, if the bill passes, it will be hard to maintain accountability and transparency of how the funds are used.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the 22nd, authorities from the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services forecasted cyclones that could bring heavy rainfalls or cause intense dry spells during this year’s rainy season, which is currently underway.

The Department forecasted La Niña, which could cause cyclones to develop in the Mozambique Channel.

President Peter Mutharika has admitted that the government is unprepared for the rainy season.

On Sunday the 23rd, local news said Mutharika told the Africa Department at the International Monetary Fund that his government needs support to address Malawi’s huge, immediate issues like the farm inputs, fuel instability, and the forex shortage.

According to local news, the country needs 110 thousand metric tonnes of farm inputs, but the Agriculture Ministry revealed that they have only 30 thousand metric tonnes.

The government has been silently restructuring management positions in some major companies.

On Wednesday the 19th, the Zodiak Broadcasting Corporation said that four Major Generals and one Brigadier General at the Malawi Defence Force had been sent out to serve civilian roles at various companies, such as the National Oil Company.

On Tuesday the 25th, the Nation Newspaper reported that five CEOs from the country's water boards had been redeployed to serve lecturing roles at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences.

It is unclear why the government is doing this, but some economic experts have warned that the government is wasting money, since all the seconded authorities will still receive the salaries and benefits of their senior positions from their old jobs, while receiving the compensation packages from their new jobs.

Did you know that Malawi does not have its own 911? The country’s 997 rapid police response line was discontinued about ten years ago due to a lack of resources, but the Malawi Police is in the process of re-introducing it because of a gruesome murder that happened last week, where unknown robbers stormed a civilian couple’s house and killed the wife after the husband said he had no money to give them.

During a parliamentary session, two MPs asked the Ministry of Homeland Security to reintroduce the line to help fight crime.

On Tuesday the 25th, the police responded, saying they will implement their rapid response in phases, starting with the major cities.

Former President Lazarus Chakwera is still upsetting people. Last week, Bakili Muluzi TV, a local watchdog, said the State House had spent 115 billion Kwacha, 66 million dollars, in just six months.

They said they saw the State House’s budget, which had outrageous allocations like 14 billion Kwacha (8 million dollars) for clothes for Chakwera and his family; 19 billion kwacha (11 million dollars) for allowances and transport refunds; and 1.8 billion kwacha (1 million dollars) for landscaping.

To make matters worse, the report said Chakwera had to borrow money because he spent the year’s allocation in six months.

People were in for another shocking discovery because, on Tuesday the 25th, a leaked document revealed that the Chakwera administration paid nearly half a billion Kwacha (290 thousand dollars) for a documentary that never saw the light of day.

According to local news, the documentary was supposed to show some of the developments the government had worked on, like their efforts to make clean water accessible to more locals by improving the country’s water boards.

The press said all the involved parties, including the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, followed procurement procedures and hired high-level professionals like Joab Chakhaza, a popular media personality who served as the project’s Strategic Communications Expert.

Now, locals want all involved parties to be held accountable, since they did not see the documentary, although the government spent lots of money on it.

Amidst all the questionable government expenditures is a much deeper conversation on how the State House spends its money.

Some media houses have published stories that Michael Usi, the former Vice President, had also spent over 15 billion Kwacha, which is 8.7 million dollars, during his five-month tenure. They wanted answers, but on Monday the 24th, the Nyasa Times wrote an investigative story saying anonymous officials from the Office of the President clarified that it was wrong to blame Usi, since he did not have the power to approve his own payments or procurements. They hinted that technocrats from the State House should be questioned instead, since the money Usi spent never left their budget, but was collected from the Treasury, thus leaving the initial allocation untouched and unaccounted for.

The story leads its readers to question Chakwera’s financial processes even more.

In sports news, Temwa Chawinga is Malawi’s golden child following her recent Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player awards, which she won last week.

Because of this, Temwa has become the first player in the US National Women’s Soccer League to win the Most Valuable Player award for two consecutive years. She also held on to her Golden Boot win, since she won it last year as well.

On Tuesday the 25th, local news said that Temwa is now on the list for the twenty-five Best Women’s Player nominations for the Globe Soccer Awards. She is one of two African players on the nominees list, alongside Barbara Banda from Zambia.

Finally, VJ Ken, a popular videographer and social media influencer, fell from grace after the police arrested him for allegedly kidnapping and sleeping with a fifteen-year-old.

Local media broke the news on Wednesday, the 19th, after the police in Blantyre in the Southern Region arrested thirty-year-old Ken after being found with the teen who had disappeared from her home on Saturday the 15th. She told the police that she and Ken were in a relationship, which was disappointing to his fans, who follow him for his spirituality and girl rights content.

VJ Ken appeared at the Blantyre Central Magistrate Court the same day, but was denied bail. He has since denied both charges against him.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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