MALAWI: The State of the Nation Address & more – 18th Feb 2025

Muli bwanji from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 18th of February twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

President Lazarus Chakwera delivered his final State of the Nation Address (or SONA) of his first term on Friday the 14th. Members of the opposition left the Parliament Chambers as the President spoke, making it look like the SONA was addressed to government MPs only.

After its delivery, several districts denied some remarks the President made. For instance, he said that his government had built twenty-nine houses for security staff in Phalombe District in the Southern Region, but the Phalombe District Council denied this. Agason Sompho, the Chairperson of the Council, told local media that the executive had only informed them of plans to construct houses, but nothing was done after that.

On Saturday the 15th, the Community Forum Organization, a local organization in Chikwawa District in the Southern Region, said they were disappointed that the President took credit for building a clinic at Chapananga within the district, when it was their work.

Several media outlets have since published several stories calling the President a pathological liar.

Now, all eyes are on the upcoming budget presentation.

On Monday the 17th, Catherine Gotani Hara, the Speaker of Parliament, announced that Simplex Chithyola Banda, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, will present the twenty twenty-five/twenty twenty-six National Budget on Friday the 28th in Parliament. She said Members of Parliament will deliberate on the budget for a few weeks before the Finance Minister makes a final budget statement on the 25th of March.

The current twenty twenty-four/twenty twenty-five budget will expire on the 31st of March. Budget analysts told local media that the outgoing budget was affected by multiple revenue challenges that led to budget deficits, and they’re hoping the government will plan better this time around.

On another note, some citizens have become more critical of the government and the state of the nation. For example, it might seem odd, but not everyone was happy after the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital announced that they would start printing and issuing birth certificates for newborn babies. Prior to this, parents had to visit the National Registration Bureau to have their children’s birth certificates issued.

While it is a good development, some users on social media feel it was long overdue, especially because Queens is the biggest hospital in the Southern Region.

The feedback remained the same even when the Mzuzu Central Hospital said they would start conducting neurosurgeries this year - twenty-five years after its establishment.

During an interview with local media on Saturday the 15th, Dr. John Chipolombwe, the Director General for the Hospital, said they have already hired a neurosurgeon.

News of the cost of living is also causing frustration with the government.

On Monday the 17th, local news revealed that the cost of a fifty-kilogram bag of maize has reached a new record high of 100 thousand Kwacha, which is sixty dollars, on several local markets nationwide. This is higher than the minimum wage of ninety thousand Kwacha, which is a little over fifty-one dollars.

The Food and Agriculture Organization released its Food Price Monitoring and Analysis Bulletin for January twenty twenty-five on Friday the 14th. The bulletin said prices rose by an average of twenty-nine percent compared to January last year. The organization said that the price increased because of several factors, including a weak local currency, which has raised the cost of key inputs like fertilizer and seeds.

This development is likely to increase food insecurity, but the government of Japan contributed 1.75 million dollars to the World Food Program to address this issue. The funds will go towards procuring and distributing nearly 790 metric tonnes of maize to seventy-one thousand vulnerable Malawians.

On Friday, the 14th, the Japanese Government also announced a three-million-dollar package that will support Malawi’s El Niño response projects, including food assistance for vulnerable farmers and vulnerable populations at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District in the Central Region.

On to mining news. Michael Usi, the Vice President, ordered the immediate suspension of all mining licenses in the country and demanded a thorough review of all the contracts. The move was put into question because of its ability to halt many local mining activities, but Usi said the decision came after learning that precious gemstones in the country are being exported at suspiciously undervalued prices, thus causing the government to lose millions in revenue.

On Wednesday the 12th, Usi had a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Mining, the Ministry of Trade, and the Mines Regulatory Authority, where he gave them twenty-one days to audit all existing mining contracts.

On the same day, President Chakwera announced the appointment of Leonard Kalindekafe, a Geology Expert, as the inaugural CEO of the Malawi Mining Investment Company (or MAMICO).

MAMICO is a newly established government corporation that will function under the Malawi Development Corporation. It will safeguard and maximize Malawians’ stake and benefits from several precious stones and minerals including gold, coal, and uranium.

According to the government, this is a strategy to generate forex reserves for future development.

Unfortunately, the government’s efficiency has been put into question. On Thursday the 13th, citizen Stevens Prince Thengo told local media that even though his passport was issued in June last year, in December twenty twenty-four, he traveled to Zambia en route to Israel, but Israel denied him entry because the scanner couldn’t read his passport. He was then put on a plane back to Zambia. Upon arrival in Zambia, he was arrested for producing a fake passport, was jailed for two days and had to be bailed out by officials of the Malawi Consulate in Zambia.

He is demanding that the Immigration Department compensate him with 300 million Kwacha, which is over 170 thousand dollars. If he is not compensated in ninety days, he will take the matter to court.

It is no news that passports produced after the twenty twenty-four passport shortage have had scanning issues, so many locals couldn’t travel or get visas. Many users on social media have expressed their support for Thengo.

This development is coming shortly after another government entity - the Lilongwe Water Board - coughed up nearly 1.4 billion Kwacha, which is nearly 800 thousand dollars, to compensate 325 residents of Area 18 in Lilongwe in the Central Region for consuming water that contained feces in July twenty seventeen.

On Thursday the 13th, local news said each resident is going to receive 4.2 million Kwacha, which is roughly 2,400 dollars, as compensation.

Meanwhile, other people have resorted to building their own solutions.

Local artists and music enthusiasts have asked for a local music store for years now. The government didn't do anything about it, so Joel Ngozo, a Web and App Developer, launched Vwaza Multimedia - a premier local music digital store that features a catalog of Malawian and other African artists.

On Friday the 14th, Ngozo, who is also the Founder and CEO of Vwaza, told local media that they want to do away with the concept of subscription-based models for music, and instead encourage ownership, like when consumers could buy CDs. He said his platform allows consumers to buy music and have access to it forever.

Let’s close this edition with some entertainment news.

On Wednesday the 12th, local media announced that Joyce Mhango Chavula, a renowned actress and filmmaker, released the trailer for the movie The Gunless Soldier. You can watch with the link in our show notes!

The film is about justice and democracy in a developing nation, and it might touch on some issues concerning the presidential elections coming up this September.

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

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Pitani bwino!