MERA Holds Hearings on Possible Tariff Increase & more –13th July 2023

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 13th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (or MERA) has been holding public hearings due to the Electricity Supply Corporation (or ESCOM’s) proposal to raise electricity tariffs by approximately 70%. If approved, consumers will pay roughly 180 Kwacha (or seventeen US cents) per kilowatt hour, instead of the current, approximate rate of 100 Kwacha (or 1 US cent).

MERA held its first hearing in Blantyre on Monday the 10th, and its second hearing in Lilongwe on Wednesday the 12th. However, the feedback from both hearings wasn’t positive.

ESCOM CEO Maxwell Mulimakwenda said the hike will enhance their operations and eliminate electricity blackouts. He also said the hike would be effected over a period of four years and not all at once, as people assume.

But John Kapito, the Executive Director of the Consumers Association of Malawi, said ESCOM had a “fruitless” tariff increase in twenty eighteen, so he has no faith that another hike would be helpful.

Gift Trapence, the leader of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, accused ESCOM of punishing consumers for its own inefficiencies and said it should fix its “broken operating system” before considering a tariff adjustment.

MERA will hold its last public hearing in Mzuzu on Friday the 14th. The Authority wants to get the public's opinion on the proposed hike before making a decision.

Customers called into question a move of the National Bank plc - one of the country’s leading banks.

Last Tuesday, the National Bank released a statement asking all its customers to update their Know Your Customer (or KYC) information if they hadn’t done so in the previous three years, or risk having their account closed. They said this should be done by Monday the 10th.

The problem is that the KYC process is frustrating because it typically involves standing in long queues. Moreover, the bank doesn’t have efficient technology hence inconveniencing its customers. Angry customers shared pictures and videos of the long queues. You can check them out in our show notes.

On Monday the 10th, the National Bank released another statement saying they had extended their deadline to the 31st of August to make room for customers who were unable to meet the previous deadline. The full statement is in our show notes.

On Wednesday the 12th, Charles Ulaya, the Chief Risk Officer for the National Bank, warned that the bank would close all accounts of customers who haven’t updated their information by the new deadline.

The unemployment rates in Malawi are shocking.

On Monday the 10th, Patrick Zimpita, the Principal Secretary for Economic Planning and Development in the Ministry of Finance, revealed that only 9% of the country’s population is employed, meaning that one employed person has nine people that depend on them.

He said this while launching the National Population Week. It will run till Friday the 14th under the theme ‘Harnessing Gender-Centered Human Capital Investment for Inclusive Socio-economic Transformation.’

In other news, the country seems to be celebrating a lot of wins this week.

In our last episode, we mentioned that the country was in a frenzy after the Ministry of Finance introduced new duty fees for second-hand imported vehicles. The move was called into question as the new taxes were exorbitant. Many locals threatened to riot.

Calm was restored on Friday the 7th after the government announced that it had dismissed its plans to increase taxes.

Sosten Gwengwe, the Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, made the announcement after meeting with importers of second-hand vehicles. He blamed the Malawi Revenue Authority for using “incorrect valuation” - they were meant to use averages of the tax rates that importers currently use to determine new taxes, and that they were supposed to consult with relevant stakeholders. Gwengwe also said the Parliament had not approved or authorized the new taxes.

If you recall yet another story from our last episode, some locals employed by Indian and Asian shop owners in Mzuzu went on strike last Wednesday, demanding that their salaries be increased.

On Thursday the 6th, representatives of the Indian and Asian business communities held a roundtable discussion with the disgruntled employees and some government officials. They agreed to increase the salaries of their shop assistants from fifty thousand Kwacha (or fifty dollars) to eighty thousand Kwacha (or eighty dollars). House helpers also had their salaries increased from thirty-eight thousand Kwacha (thirty-six dollars) to fifty thousand Kwacha (fifty dollars).

Other people employed by Indian and Asian shop owners in other cities are plotting their own demonstrations in hopes of getting a salary increase too.

There was some great news from the sports world too.

For starters, the Malawi National Football team, the Flames, has qualified for the semifinal matches of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations, commonly known as COSAFA. The last time the Flames achieved such a feat was in two thousand and three. This time around, the team has not only qualified for the COSAFA Cup semifinals, but they did so without conceding any goals in any of its matches against Comoros, Seychelles, and Zambia. This is a first in Malawian football history and has caused excitement among football lovers in the country.

Many people are also congratulating netball icon, Mary Waya, because she was named as one of the analysts for the twenty twenty-three Netball World Cup finals. Waya is the Director of Netball in the Ministry of Sports and the former coach and player of the Malawi National Netball team.

SuperSport released a statement on Friday the 7th, saying that Waya is one of three analysts who will be representing Africa at Netball World Cup events, which will run from the 28th of July to the 6th of August in South Africa. SuperSport mentioned some of Waya’s achievements, including her having played over 200 matches for Malawi.

Some people are into more challenging physical activities.

On Saturday the 8th, over 170 athletes - including twelve internationals - participated in the annual Mount Mulanje Porters Race.

The race is renowned for its grueling terrain and demanding conditions. Its participants race on the country’s tallest mountain, Mulanje, and on a selected route that spans about twenty-five kilometers. They compete on uphill climbs and steep descents.

This year, Tereza Master came first in the women's category, while Evance Nyazule won the men's category.

In other news, some locals marched against same-sex marriages in Blantyre, Zomba, and Lilongwe on Thursday the 13th. There was a heavy military presence in all three cities to ensure that the demonstrations remain peaceful.

Religious groups organized the demonstrations, including the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, the Evangelical Association of Malawi, and the Malawi Council of Churches. They said they aren’t trying to harm or stigmatize propagators of same-sex relationships, but to show them the right way.

The marches were triggered by ongoing High Court hearings for an application to declare Malawi’s homosexuality laws unconstitutional. The next hearing will be held on Monday the 17th at the Blantyre High Court.

The Malawi Defense Force (or MDF) has a new leader.

On Tuesday the 11th, Colleen Zamba, the Secretary to the President and Cabinet, announced that President Chakwera had appointed Lieutenant General Paul Valentino Phiri as the new Commander-In-Chief for the MDF.

Vincent Nundwe, the previous Army General, was fired by former President Mutharika in twenty twenty for protecting protesters who demonstrated against “fraudulent” presidential election results.

And for our last story, the Epic Club, one of the biggest nightclubs in Lilongwe, has a new dress code.

On Monday the 10th, the club’s management released a statement saying they would require all their guests to abide by a strict dress code to ensure the exclusivity of the club. People wearing athletic and beachwear, indecent hats, or carrying backpacks won’t be allowed to enter the club.

To check out the full statement, follow the link in our show notes..

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

In case you couldn’t listen to our previous update, we have two new shows! These are the Rorshok Multilateral Update, covering the world's major multilateral institutions, and the Ocean’s Update about 70% of Earth's surface covered in salt water.Intrigued? Listen to them in your podcast favorite app. You can also check out the rest of our Country Updates, to see what’s going on in the rest of the world!

Pitani bwino!