Malawi: Chakwera and His Government Are Clueless- Mutharika

By Ajong Mbapndah L

In a seething and scathing press conference, former Malawian President Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika lambasted the incumbent Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera and his government for being clueless and leading the country on a downward economic and socio-political spiral. Chakwera's administration was castigated for knowing nothing and doing nothing when the country is on a freefall to the abyss.

The strong criticism levelled against the Chakwera administration comes off the back of the latest Kwacha devaluation which has in turn eroded the incomes of most Malawians while at the same time causing a sharp increase in the prices of basic commodities.

Prof Mutharika relayed the strong remarks at a press conference held under the banner, "Malawi in a parlous state, a cry for our beloved country". Right from the word go, Mutharika castigated President Chakwera saying he has abdicated his duties as the president and as such, the country was running on autopilot. Instead of governing and managing the affairs of the country, President Chakwera was said to be more interested in lining up his pockets and those of his close confidants with public funds.

The president was also lambasted for living in opulence in a sea of poverty. A case in point highlighted during the press conference are the numerous foreign travels the president has embarked on using hired expensive private jets.

Mutharika's press conference highlighted in detail the perilous state of Malawi. Considering the details, the criticism levelled against the president is certainly warranted. The former Malawian president who is seeking an immediate return to the presidency stressed that the man-made devaluation of the Malawian kwacha resulted in an "immediate increase in prices of basic commodities such as salt, sugar, school fees, bus fares, maize, fertilizer."

The recent devaluation of the kwacha saw it lose 44% of its value. This is the second time that the kwacha has officially been devalued since President Chakwera was elected. The first devaluation came in May last year when the kwacha lost 25% of its value. While these are the official figures, Mutharika claimed that the real devaluation now stands in excess of 132%. Evidencing this is the exchange rate which traded at 732 to the dollar in 2020 but now its sunk to 1,700.00.

The devaluation has thus necessitated a sharp rise in prices while in turn, eroding the incomes of Malawians. The price of a "50kg bag of maize has increased from Mk7,500.00 in 2020 to Mk50,000. 00. As a 50kg bag of fertilizer is now Mk110,000.00 from Mk17,000.00 from 2020... petrol is now selling at MK2,530.00 from as little as Mk690.00 in 2020." The skyrocketing prices have also transcended to rates. Electricity rates have skyrocketed by 44% while water boards are joining the bandwagon as they have expressed interest to follow suit.  Transport fares for kabaza, and minibuses have all gone up.

President Chakwera was also castigated for being tone deaf and being in a perpetual election mode as he prioritises doing political meetings and holding rallies across the country in the process consuming "millions of Kwachas which could have been used for essential needs like medicine."

While devaluation policies may work in other contexts, Mutharika said President Chakwera and his administration should have known that these policies would not work in Malawi. This is necessitated by the fact that "Malawi is predominantly an importing and not an export economy. And that devaluation of a currency does more harm than good," in such a context. Implementing supposed good policies in the wrong context clearly demonstrates how President Chakwera's administration is "clueless, knows nothing and does nothing".

A comparison was also highlighted during the press conference to demonstrate the inadequacies of the Chakwera administration. "In 3 years alone the Chakwera Government has borrowed over 8 trillion Malawi Kwachas. In contrast, the DPP only borrowed Mk1.5 trillion in 6 years and was able to achieve macroeconomic stability. It inherited a debt of Mk2.6 trillion from the Joyce Banda Government and left it at Mk4.1 trillion in 2020. Inflation was below single digit at 8%, Interest rates were around 12% and the kwacha to the dollar was stable at Mk732.00 in 2020 when we left government."

Compounding matters is the fact that the borrowed funds were used to import goods and services from outside, in so doing depleting the foreign reserves. At the same time, the funds were also used to embark "on foreign trips.” In 3 years alone the President and his entourage of over 100 people have travelled outside the country 42 times."

The press conference ended by painting a grim outlook for Malawi for as long as President Chakwera remains president saying, "Because of lack of visionary leadership, the Chakwera government has failed to invest in productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and mining.  As such the economic growth as measured by gross domestic product has dismally declined registering GDP rates of less than 1.2% per annum since Chakwera took over government. This is against a population growth rate of over 2.7% per annum. Simply said, we are getting poorer and poorer each passing year under Chakwera. No wonder the number of people sliding into extreme poverty has doubled. 90% of the 20 million Malawians are now poor."