Govt asks Malawians to wait 2 years for relief

The government has reacted to opposition and governance advocates’ accusations that it is failing to respond to the economic crisis with the urgency it deserves by pleading with Malawians to give it at least two years.

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba said in an interview yesterday that the fuel crisis, foreign exchange shortages and other economic problems were structural challenges inherited from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration voted out in September 2025.

He said this in response to UTM Party president Dalitso Kabambe’s statement that challenged government to stop taking Malawians for granted, saying the suffering of ordinary people demands decisive leadership and immediate action rather than further explanations.

In the statement posted on his Facebook page on Wedneaday, Kabambe said families were struggling with hunger, unreliable fuel supplies, erratic water supply and shortages of essential medicines, while businesses and productive sectors were also under pressure.

He said: “We cannot continue like this. The suffering is real, the economic cost is growing, and the patience of the people is not limitless.

“Malawi’s leadership must act with urgency, humility and compassion before this crisis causes even greater harm.”

Kabambe, a former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor, urged President Peter Mutharika to address the nation, acknowledge the severity of the situation and outline concrete interventions and timelines for relief.

But Namalomba urged Kabambe and other critics to give government space to implement its recovery measures, saying Mutharika already indicated that stabilising the economy could take at least two years.

The minister said the forex and fuel problems predated the Democratic Progressive

Namalomba: This is a process

Party (DPP) administration, adding that government was implementing measures to address them.

Said Namalomba: “The issue of forex was there. It is not something that has come about in the one year that DPP has been in government.

“The issue of fuel has been there. So these are problems that have been there and what we are doing is to address them.”

He cited austerity measures t a rget ing government procurement and expenditure as part of efforts to conserve foreign exchange.

Other interventions include promoting value addition and mining, as well as engaging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restore the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

Namalomba, however, said government expected the situation to stabilise in the coming months, while acknowledging that Malawians,

including Cabinet ministers, were experiencing the hardship.

“This is a process. It is not like when today he [Kabambe] complains about the problems, then tomorrow the problems will be sorted out. These problems are structural and they require time,” he said.

In a separate interview, MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwila dismissed government ‘s explanation, accusing the DPP administration of worsening the country’s problems during its first year in office.

She cited persistent fuel and medicine shortages, forex scarcity and rising living costs, alongside what she described as failures in infrastructure development, agriculture and essential social services.

Kabwila said government should stop blaming its predeces sor and take responsibility for the situation.

“The DPP government must accept that they have run out of ideas. They got into this as an accidental government. They have got no clue,” she said.

Meanwhi l e, Cent re for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said government was not treating the challenges with the seriousness

they deserved.

He said forex shortages, fuel scarcity, persistent electricity blackouts and food shortages were severely affecting livelihoods, businesses and the cost of living.

“We continue to hear assurances, but people need concrete action and tangible results, not political rhetoric,” he said.

Meanwhile, governance expert Moses Mkandawire has warned that the blame game will not help resolve the crisis, which he described as complex and requiring collective effort.

He cited years of low production, corruption and mismanagement of public resources among factors worsening the country’s economic difficulties.

However, Mzuzu University economics lecturer Christopher Mbukwa said Malawi could recover within two years if government implemented the right interventions.

He also called for increased production in agriculture, mining and industry, with emphasis on identifying high-value export commodities and promoting value addition.

The debate comes amid growing pressure over the country’s worsening socio-economic conditions.

On November 4, government and Malawi First, a grouping led by Bon Kalindo, agreed to suspend a seven-day ultimatum the group issued on October 29, demanding solutions to fuel shortages, hunger, electricity blackouts, forex scarcity and erratic water supply.

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