MALAWI: Policy Rate Increase & more – 8th Feb 2024

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 8th of February twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

The Reserve Bank increased the policy rate by twenty-six percent.

The Monetary Policy Committee (or MPC) met for the first time in twenty twenty-four on the 31st of January and the 1st of February to assess the macroeconomic situation in Malawi. They decided to increase the policy rate. This, in turn, will raise the cost of borrowing and the country's inflation. According to the National Statistics Office, the twenty twenty-three annual inflation rate stands at over twenty-eight percent.

MPC’s statement said that, “the inflation pressures have intensified, and the inflation path is set to remain elevated above the five percent medium-term target."

The statement further said that the Committee observed that the high inflation environment was not conducive to growth. This prompted them to introduce a monetary policy response that would contain inflationary pressures and restore price stability.

There have been interesting developments at the Parliament, where MPs and other stakeholders have been meeting ahead of the twenty twenty-four-twenty twenty-five Budget Meeting, scheduled for Thursday the 9th.

For instance, the Presidential Age Limit Bill, which has been a topic of discussion at the Parliament for years now, resurfaced.

On Monday the 5th, Kondwani Nankhumwa, the Legislator for Mulanje Central, presented a Private Member’s Bill proposing a constitutional amendment to forbid people over eighty from running for president. In Malawi's constitution, presidents must be at least thirty-five, but there is no maximum age.

This bill first came into light in twenty eighteen, when Joseph Chidanti Malunga, the former legislator for Nsanje South West, proposed that presidential contestants' age should be capped at sixty-five, but this was thrown out.

Nankhumwa argued that the presidential office requires energetic people, but Patrick Mpaka, the Malawi Law Society president, said the Constitution addresses the capability of a President. For instance, people can’t contest for the presidency if they are or have been bankrupt, of unsound mind, or convicted of crimes involving dishonesty. So the proposed amendment wouldn't close any constitutional gaps.

On Saturday the 3rd, President Chakwera approved nine bills that were passed. These include the Data Protection, Persons with Disabilities, and the Investment and Export Promotion bills. He also approved the amendment of some bills, such as the Electronic Transfer and Cyber Security bill.

But President Chakwera refused to approve one draft law - the Private Members bill, which encompassed amendments to the presidential age limit.

He said it is non-compliant with the country's Constitution.


Last week, a group of local investigative journalists called the Platform for Investigative Journalism published an article revealing that the government was still working with Zuneth Sattar.

The government said they had cancelled all their dealings with Sattar after the Anti-Corruption Bureau started investigating allegations that he bribed Saulos Chilima, Malawi’s Vice President, in exchange for multi-million government contracts.

The story, published on Monday the 5th, revealed that the Malawi Defense Force (or MDF) is planning to purchase thirty-two armed vehicles from a company associated with Sattar. It said the MDF paid about five million dollars as part of a twenty million dollar deal to procure the vehicles. The article included leaked documents from the MDF - all of which undermine the government’s word to fight corruption.

Wanna know more? Link to the article in the show notes!

On Friday the 2nd, Gregory Gondwe, the author of the article, went into hiding after being tipped by military sources about MDF’s plans to arrest him. In a social media post shared on his Facebook profile, Gondwe said he was scared of being murdered, because Malawi has a history of people who rise against the government dying under suspicious circumstances.

While talking to local media, Gondwe said the MDF’s displeasure over the leaks is precisely why he had to protect himself and his sources at all costs.

Several journalist groups, press freedom and humanitarian organizations said they stand with Gondwe. Many locals on social media said they support Gondwe too.

In one of our previous episodes, we mentioned that the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services is not issuing passports because they are having issues with their system.

On Sunday the 4th, a local newspaper said an anonymous inside source from the Department revealed that their Passport Issuing System was hacked three weeks ago and the Department is struggling to restore it.

Clarence Gama, President of the Information and Communications Technology Association in Malawi, said the situation is dangerous since the hackers can steal or tamper with important information, or produce their own unauthorized passports.

The anonymous source said the Department engaged a local Information Technology (or IT) guru, whose name they withheld, to help restore the system, but it didn’t work.

Many thought that Sparc Systems Limited was the IT guru because they are Malawi’s biggest IT company. But on Tuesday the 6th, Sparc Systems released a statement distancing itself from the whole situation.

They said they had not been called to consult, manage or fix the issue.

In more follow-ups, we mentioned that the government had increased salaries for employees in different sectors. Unfortunately, the news was triggering for some. Recall that their monthly salaries went from 38 thousand Kwacha or roughly twenty-three dollars to 52 thousand Kwacha or a little over thirty dollars.

Workers demand a wage increase. However, on Sunday the 4th, some domestic employees in Lilongwe told local media that they were disappointed with their salary increase. Jafali Abdul, the Chairperson for the Domestic Workers Association, said they won't accept the raises as they're insulting. He argued that a fifty-kilogram bag of maize is selling at fifty thousand Kwacha or about thirty dollars, which is almost their salaries. He questioned how the government expects them to survive under such circumstances.

He said that domestic workers would demonstrate if the government did not meet their demands.

Domestic employees aren't the only ones unimpressed with their work conditions. Other workers include the youths who went to work in Israeli farms because of the Labor Export Agreement between the governments of Israel and Malawi.

Nir Gess, Malawi’s Honorary Consul in Israel, said that, in the last two months, at least twenty-three youths have fled the farms to seek employment elsewhere, while others are seeking asylum because the youths believe Malawi is “not safe for their settlement."

Nir Barakt, Israel's Minister of Economy, said Malawi could send 100 thousand employees, but Gess said the recent developments have worried Israeli authorities. They are wondering if they can trust Malawians.

Betchani Tchereni, the Secretary to the Treasury, assured that Malawians are disciplined and asked that a few bad names not damage the country’s reputation.

Motel Paradise in Blantyre has been a go-to roadside venue for live music shows for over thirty years. It characterized the local nightlife very well, but that era may be over.

On Thursday the 8th, local news reported that Motel Paradise had been sold and that the new owners wanted to turn it into a Muslim school. Edwin Ora, the former manager of the motel, said after the death of the owners, their sons, who were running it, decided to sell it. He does not think the new owners will allow any live entertainment.

In more entertainment news, organizers of the Lilongwe Motor Show said they would be hosting the fourth edition of the event on the 1st of June at the Bingu International Conference Center in Lilongwe.

A press statement signed by Alinane Andrew Njolomole, the Chief Executive Officer for the show, said it would be a family-friendly event celebrating automobiles and that it would feature exhibitions, demonstrations, spins, and raffles.

The Copyright Society of Malawi (or COSOMA) elected a new board on Tuesday the 6th, and consists of well-known musicians. For instance, the new President of COSOMA is Bishop Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango. Many people know him from his tenure as the president of the Musicians Union of Malawi, which ran from twenty fourteen to twenty nineteen.

The new COSOMA Board also includes Edgar Kachere from the popular Edgar ndi Davis band, Wendy Harawa, Anthony Dumba and Deborah Ntopa.

Many local musicians believe that the COSOMA board members being musicians will help improve affairs in the music industry.

Aand that is for this week.

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