MALAWI: Fuel Prices Increase & more – 20th Jan 2026

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 20th of January twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Fuel prices increased by a little over 41% on Monday the 19th.

The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority released a statement saying that they had ditched the Fixed Pricing system used by the previous government, as it led to trading losses that made it difficult for Malawi to import sufficient fuel, resulting in persistent shortages. Now, they have adopted the Automatic Pricing Mechanism, which means fuel prices increase or decrease if the fuel landing costs change by 5%.

They said the current landing costs are over 5%, and that’s why both petrol and diesel will now sell at nearly 5,000 Kwacha per liter, which is almost three dollars, up from roughly 3,500 Kwacha, which is two dollars.

On top of that, people will now have to pay 12% more for electricity.

On Monday the 19th, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority gave the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi permission to increase electricity tariffs by 12%. In twenty twenty-three, the Corporation asked to increase its electricity tariffs by 50%, and said it would implement the price hikes in phases, from twenty twenty-three to twenty twenty-seven. This increase marks the third rise, following a 16% hike last February.

There’s one more increase: a 9% hike that will be implemented between now and twenty twenty-seven.

To make matters worse, there are rumors that the government plans to tax people’s pension income, and many users on social media are not having it.

Last week, the Economics Association of Malawi hinted that the Ministry of Finance had approached them for a comment on whether this would be a viable plan. According to a document circulating on social media, if the pension tax is introduced, then people could be taxed up to 30% of their pension income.

On Monday the 19th, the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions released a statement saying the tax violates people’s security in old age and pressures the elderly. But the Treasury said they have no idea where people are getting the pension tax story from.

This year, the government introduced a 0.05% levy on bank transfers, but the Bankers Association of Malawi said they aren’t sure how to apply the tax and who would pay for it. Currently, banks have pushed that cost to customers, making almost all banking activities more expensive.

On Monday the 19th, local news said that, while giving recommendations for the twenty twenty-six/twenty twenty-seven National Budget, the Association urged the government to clarify which services can be taxed under the new levy, since it currently touches on all electronic transfers such as bill payments, account transfers, and tax payments. This is on top of the new Value Added Tax of 17.5%, which was also introduced this year, up from 16.5%.

Meanwhile, people have a cholera scare to watch out for…

On Monday the 19th, local news said that cholera cases increased by nearly 33% - from 211 to 280 - in just one week. This comes a month after the first cholera case was recorded on the 11th of December. A report from the Public Health Institute of Malawi said the disease is no longer affecting isolated individuals and is now spreading within local communities in several districts, including Blantyre and Balaka in the Southern Region. It also said the quick spread could be a sign of contaminated water sources.

Health experts have warned that, if the infections do not decrease within the next fourteen days, Malawi could have a cholera epidemic.

The National Registration Bureau is currently running a national birth registration campaign to register children under sixteen who are currently not registered and don’t have any legal identity documents.

The Ministry of Homeland Security said there are nearly 4.6 million unregistered children, making statistics in the National Population Register unreliable. The Ministry also said unregistered children face a greater risk of abuses like trafficking, child labor, and exploitation.

The National Registration Bureau will run the campaign in seven phases nationwide, so that each child has a national identity number, just like the law requires.

Children’s affairs are still a trending topic, following news that fewer children will be sitting for this year’s national exams.

The Malawi National Examinations Board closed registrations for the twenty twenty-six national exams, and they told local news that the number of candidates expected to take the Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education and the Malawi School Certificate of Education fell by 0.8% compared to last year. This does not seem to make sense, since the government introduced free education for public schools this year.

Some education experts said this is a sign that students are dropping out of school due to factors like poverty, pregnancy, and early marriage. They are worried that Malawi’s future is at stake.

Unfortunately, most kids who finish school can’t get a job.

A joint report by the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the UN said that 270 thousand young people enter Malawi’s job market every year, but only 30 thousand are employed formally. The report said it would take Malawi roughly nine years to employ one year’s worth of job seekers.

The report says most Malawians are educated on paper, but not in reality, since they remain unemployable because of low-quality education, which means students - especially women - leave school without basic reading and numerical skills. It also said there’s a mismatch between the education system and the labor market, meaning people have degrees but not the practical skills required for jobs.

The report recommended short programs to teach youths skills to help them survive the job market.

Still on reports… A twenty twenty-five National Statistics Office survey on justice and accountability said the Malawi Police Service is the biggest violator of human rights, with almost 11% of respondents name-dropping them. It also said that women’s rights are being violated by government institutions like the courts and by public officers, more than by men.

While commenting on the report, the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice, and Assistance said that the survey reveals deep issues in the system, including the government's inability to protect human rights.

This relates to a recent story by the Nyasa Times which said that, although the law prohibits prisons from keeping people in custody for too long without charging them, 3,700 people are being held in remand across Malawi’s prisons. This means that, once arrested, you may not make it out, especially if you can’t afford a lawyer to fight for your freedom or bail.

The story highlighted people who have been on remand since twenty eleven, with some losing relatives, marriages, and job and school opportunities while in prison.

It said prisons aren’t at fault, since they rely on the courts to sentence people. But the courts are overwhelmed with cases, and there’s a shortage of legal practitioners, so people stay in prison for years, even when the law says they are innocent until proven guilty.

You can read more about this story with the link in the show notes.

In trending news… People are shocked by reports that unknown assailants dug up a grave in a cemetery and stole the arms of a man with albinism in Dowa in the Central Region. This has awakened fears that the lives of people living with albinism are still at risk, as some people have superstitious beliefs that their body parts are valuable and can bring luck, including wealth.

The Malawi Human Rights Commission told local news that the years of awareness campaigns to dismantle the harmful beliefs have clearly not worked, since people with albinism are being attacked, even in their deaths.

The news sparked outrage and calls for more security for people living with albinism.

Closing this episode, Malawi has scored a seat in Africa PR Week’s prestigious list of communications leaders, with Akossa Hiwa being named among the Top 100 Corporate Communications Leaders in Africa. Hiwa works as the Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager for the National Bank of Malawi.

Her recognition didn’t come out of the blue, since her peers gave her flowers through recent awards like the Public Relations Practitioner of the Year from the Public Relations Society of Malawi.

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

Remember that we sell very cool t-shirts, check them out with the link in the show notes.

Pitani bwino!