Malawi Update –Fuel Shortage & more –4th May 2023

th of May: 2023

The fuel shortage is now a major issue in Malawi, even though on Thursday the 27th, the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (or MERA) attributed it to a logistical glitch that would be sorted out this past weekend. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

On Thursday the 27th, the fuel shortage hit Lilongwe, causing many motorists to queue at filling stations in hopes that a fuel tanker would show up.

The next day, on Friday the 28th, the old capital, Zomba, joined the struggle. Local media reported that a lot of filling stations had run out of the commodity and that the city was full with long fuel queues.

The situation quickly spread to other parts of the country, such as Blantyre. So, many motorists spent their Labor Day holiday—which was on Monday the 1st—in a fuel queue or looking for gas.

On Monday the 1st, MERA released a statement saying the Labor Day holiday had impacted their delivery logistics, in addition to the glitches they experienced last week. They said that, despite these challenges, they are making every effort to stabilize the flow of fuel, and assured that stock would be gradually scaled up and that they would start making more deliveries by Tuesday the 2nd.

They expect the situation to normalize within a few days and urged the public to avoid panic buying, which they said distorts consumption and the performance of their fuel restoration plan.

A few hours after MERA’s statement, local media reported that the fuel shortage had also hit Mzuzu, as most filling stations within the city had run dry.

By Tuesday the 2nd, the fuel shortage had impacted several areas within Blantyre, causing logistical issues for many locals, including those who rely on public transport.

Local media reported that in Limbe township—which is one of the city’s busiest areas—all the filling stations had run out of gas, causing public transport fares to be doubled as a result.

For instance, minibus fares for Limbe to Blantyre were raised to 800 Kwacha, or seventy-eight US cents, from 400 Kwacha, or thirty-nine cents, while those going to Ndirande from Limbe had to pay 700 Kwacha, or sixty-eight cents, instead of the usual 300 Kwacha, or twenty-nine cents.

MERA has been posting fuel delivery schedules since Monday the 1st, in light of the shortage. These are meant to alert motorists on which stations will have which fuel, and on what day. We have the link to MERA’s Facebook page, in case you’d like to see their schedules.

Unfortunately, locals have more to worry about.

On Thursday the 27th, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of Malawi hiked their Policy Rate by 400 basis points, causing it to jump from 18% to 22%. This means that people looking to get a loan from commercial banks and other money-lending institutions will pay higher interest rates.

According to a statement signed by Wilson Banda, the Governor of the Reserve Bank and Chairperson of the Monetary Policy Committee, they have noted that the inflation outlook had worsened, mainly due to unforeseen domestic shocks, such as the occurrence of Tropical Cyclone FREDDY and localized droughts, which worsened the food supply prospects and strengthened adverse supply-side inflationary pressures.

There are fears among locals that the prices of commodities such as sugar and cooking oil will be hiked soon too.

In somewhat positive news, the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (or DRTSS) announced that it has started issuing driving license cards again, months after it suspended the service due to a lack of printing cards. However, motorists said they are still struggling to obtain their licenses due to network issues.

Local media reported that the DRTSS restarted issuing licenses on Friday the 28th however, a lot of people are yet to receive them due to network challenges.

On Tuesday the 2nd, local media conducted spot checks in the late afternoon and confirmed that there was a long queue at the Southern Region Office at Ginnery Corner in Blantyre. Many people complained that they had been waiting since morning to be assisted.

Officials from the DRTSS are yet to comment on the matter.

There have been some interesting updates to a story we told you last week. The government revoked the license of Ichocho Power Security Company, due to a video the employees made, where they said they had kidnapped and held hostage Tonderai Banda, son of prominent lawyer, Jai Banda.

On Saturday the 29th, Yassin Suwedi, the CEO of Ichocho, issued a letter of apology to the Ministry of Homeland Security in hopes of getting their license back.

On Sunday the 30th, Ken Zikhale Ng’oma, the Minister of Homeland Security, summoned the company to a hearing. He told local media that he wants to understand if the apology letter “really came from them”.

On Tuesday the 2nd, local media reported that George Kasakula, the Chairperson for Ichocho and Director General for the state-owned media house—Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, pleaded for mercy at Ichocho’s disciplinary meeting, which was held on the day. He said he would put measures in place to ensure that a similar incident does not occur again.

According to local media, Ken Zikhale Ng'oma - the Minister of Homeland Security, Titus Mvalo - the Minister of Justice, Merlyn Yolamu—the Inspector General for the Malawi Police Service, and top officials from the Malawi Defence Force attended the disciplinary meeting.

Later that day, local media reported that, following their meeting, the Ministry of Homeland Security had forgiven Ichocho. The Ministry said they had noted Ichocho’s remorseful behavior and also took into consideration that the company employs hundreds of youths, which would be jobless without the Ichocho company.

The whole debacle was considered comedic by many locals, who felt there are more pressing issues that the government should address.

Local Afro-Jazz artist Lawi and Congolese artist Awilo Longomba are still at loggerheads.

Awilo was expected to perform at Lawi’s concert which was scheduled for Saturday the 29th at the Bingu International Conference Center, but he “ghosted” Lawi a few days before the show, despite Lawi having invested fifteen million Kwacha—about fifteen thousand dollars—for Awilo’s travel arrangements.

On Friday the 28th, Lawi told local media that he had lost all hope that Awilo would show up. After many locals heard the news, they stormed Awilo’s Facebook page, commenting on random posts and demanding answers. This caused Awilo to delete all recent posts on his page.

Fellow artist Patience Namadingo said he was disappointed in Awilo’s conduct and volunteered to step in and perform with Lawi for free.

On Saturday the 29th—the day of the concert - multitudes stormed the event in what many described as an act of revenge. The patrons enjoyed performances from Lawi and Patience.

Despite this, the management teams of Lawi and Awilo are still arguing.

On Monday the 1st, Leo Brown—one of Awilo’s managers—shared a video on social media demanding that Lawi make a public apology for defaming Awilo within twenty-four hours or face unspecified action. But Lawi told local media that he is yet to get formal communication from Awilo’s team about why he couldn’t make it to Malawi. He revealed that they have refunded half of the fifteen million Kwacha payment he made to them.

Football lovers are mourning Boniface Maganga - former goalkeeper for the Malawi national football team. He died on Sunday the 30th after a long battle with leg problems that had him bound to a wheelchair for years. He was sixty-eight years old.

ntral Africa Challenge Cup in: 1978

Walter Nyamilandu, the President of the Football Association of Malawi, said Maganga was one of the country’s legends. President Chakwera said Maganga has left an enduring legacy in the realm of sport.

Maganga’s last-born son James said the burial details are to be shared.

Aaaand that's it for this week! Remember We have a Mastodon account! Check out our instance rorshok.social. If you don't know what Mastodon is or want to know more about it, check out the link in the show notes to our Substack.

Pitani bwino!