MALAWI: Trade Talks with Tanzania & more – 6th May 2025

Muli bwanji from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 6th of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

In our last episode, we mentioned that Malawi and Tanzania would have a ministerial discussion on Friday the 2nd to resolve Malawi’s ban on trade imports, which stopped Tanzania from sending its agricultural produce to Malawi and strained relations between the two countries.

On Saturday the 3rd, local media shared key points from the meeting in a joint statement from the two governments. As it stands, Malawi has officially lifted the ban against importing Tanzanian goods, and the two countries are currently working on a legal framework that will help simplify trade between them while benefiting the citizens of both countries.

As Malawi prepares for its Presidential Elections this September, the National Registration Bureau (or NRB) announced its plans to send registration officers to South Africa to register Malawians living there.

Mphatso Sambo, the NRB Principal Secretary, broke the news on Wednesday the 30th, and said the citizens would need only their national identity cards to register for the elections. He said the Bureau has plans to carry out the same activity in countries like the UK and the US, and that dates would be revealed soon.

Even though local news didn’t say why the NRB chose these specific countries, the potential reason behind picking them is that there may be a high population of Malawians there.

Speaking of the elections, tensions are running high in political parties. There is a surge of party candidates running as independent candidates in the upcoming general elections, but an opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (or DPP) said they will not allow any of their members to get away with this behaviour as it goes against their constitution.

A DPP statement released on Monday the 5th warned that any member who decides to run as an independent candidate would be removed from the party once their candidacy is declared, getting no funding. They said they expect all their members to be loyal and committed to the DPP. However, the statement has sparked debates on whether this is democratic. Most political experts seem to think it’s not.

Meanwhile, the ruling Malawi Congress Party (or MCP) is being dragged because of some chaos on Monday the 28th during the party’s primary elections in the Dzalanyama Constituency in Dedza District in the Central Region.

According to local news, some unidentified individuals tried to set fire to the ballot boxes with gasoline while people were voting. Eyewitnesses believe this was an attempt to destroy evidence of the winner. The police quickly jumped in and managed to take the boxes away for counting, but over a week has passed and the MCP still hasn’t revealed the winner, which was called into question, as some foul play may be involved.

People in the district are angry and are demanding answers from the now-quiet MCP.

Four opposition parties in Parliament—the United Transformation Movement, the People’s Party, the United Democratic Front, and the Alliance for Democracy—have not held their primary elections yet. They have only a few weeks left, since all political parties must submit their nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission on the 10th of June.

Earlier this year, the parties said they would have their primaries in the first quarter of twenty twenty-five, but there have been no updates. On Tuesday the 4th, the parties’ representatives told local media that they would hold their elections this month but did not specify dates.

George Chaima, a political analyst, noted that delays could be due to non-government parties struggling to raise resources, but warned that continued delays might affect public votes.

In trending news, the police worked with US agents to bust a Mexican drug cartel that wanted to set up drug laboratories and hubs to distribute dangerous drugs to many African countries, including Malawi.

On Monday the 5th, Peter Kalaya, the National Police Spokesperson, said they arrested six Mexicans and one Nigerian at the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe in the Central Region. They were going to Mozambique to allegedly set up the labs. He said the US had given them information about the six Mexicans via Interpol, as they are among suspected drug dealers wanted in the US.

Social media comments on the story showed that many Malawians were shocked, since there’s not much drug-related news in Malawi.

On another note, journalists faulted the ruling Malawi Congress Party while observing World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated globally on the 3rd of May every year.

When queried, many journalists and other locals who were interviewed said the government has done a poor job of protecting media freedom. Latimu Matenje, a social commentator, gave the government a zero out of ten score and said journalists are usually intimidated and arrested by the government, which violates press freedom.

Golden Matonga, the Chairperson of the Media Institute of Southern Africa - Malawi Chapter, agreed with Matenje, and added that journalists still struggle to get information from public institutions even though the country has a law on Access to Information.

For the first time ever, Malawi will be hosting the seventh edition of the Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week, starting from Monday the 12th until Friday the 16th.

Sam Kawale, the Minister of Agriculture, told local news that the event will help Malawi gain valuable insights to advance its agricultural sector. He said this is important as the country is currently transitioning from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. He said the event would also benefit local farmers, who would showcase their work to international audiences.

In other news, on Wednesday the 30th, the National Bank of Malawi plc (or NBM) launched a financing solution called Fuel 360 to help fuel traders get tailor-made financial support that will help them improve their operations.

Oswin Kasunda, the Head of Retail Banking at NBM, said they developed the Fuel 360 financing package after discovering that local fuel operators face financing challenges when restocking fuel. He said their package is meant to address this challenge through features like collateral-free credit facilities, short-term loans, and temporary overdrafts.

NBM’s move is perfectly timed, and probably not by chance, as it comes at a time when Malawi has been struggling with recurring fuel shortages because of the forex shortage.

Some public officials are devastated by the sudden death of Chikumbutso Mtumodzi, who passed away on Monday the 5th, after a short illness. He was the government’s Controller of Procurement and Supply Services, and also served in other government roles since two thousand nine.

On Tuesday the 6th, Leria, Mtumodzi’s niece, told local media that he will be laid to rest in his home village in Dowa District in the Central Region on Wednesday the 7th.

Mtumodzi’s colleagues have also been sharing their condolences on social media and in the press.

In entertainment news, the music Kabula Festival has started announcing its headliners as they gear up for the event, which is set to take place at the Echo Park in Blantyre in the Southern Region from the 6th to the 7th of June. On Friday the 2nd, they told local news that Patience Namadingo, who is one of Malawi’s biggest musicians, will be headlining the event.

While Kabula Festival is hosting its first event, it has managed to draw considerable buzz amongst locals on social media. The organizers have described the event as a celebration of music, art and culture, and have promised many activities like boat riding, sightseeing of wild animals, and many cultural dances.

Overtoun Jenda, a Malawian Mathematics Professor based in America, was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. According to local news, this title is one of the most prestigious honors globally in science circles. It was awarded to him in recognition of his lifetime contributions to mathematics, mentorship, and the advancement of science education.

Some comments on social media described Jenda as a gentle giant and an inspiration to youngsters in the field.

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

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Pitani bwino!