Poor service adds to Malawi’s business costs

Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism Simon Itaye has called for improved service delivery across public institutions and businesses, warning that administrative inefficiencies and poor customer relations could undermine Malawi’s investment competitiveness and economic transformation ambitions.

The call follows findings from the inaugural National Customer Satisfaction Index, which exposed significant service delivery gaps, particularly in public institutions, raising concerns about the additional costs businesses and consumers incur when accessing essential services.

Speaking during the Chartered Institute of Customer Management (Cicm) Customer Service Week Breakfast Meeting in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Itaye said Malawi recorded an overall customer satisfaction score of 58 percent, five percentage points below the African average of 63 percent.

The survey, which covered 4 200 respondents across the country’s three regions, showed that local councils registered the lowest reported satisfaction score at 38 percent, compared with 75 percent for hotels, 68 percent for banks and 66 percent for mobile money services.

Mautsa: Good customer service is a

responsibility of all of us. | Eric Mtemang’ombe

It further established that visits to public agencies take an average of 4.2 hours, while 38 percent of customer complaints remain unresolved after three days.

Itaye said the findings highlighted the need to strengthen institutional efficiency and responsiveness, particularly as Malawi seeks to attract investment and expand exports under Malawi 2063.

“Because every investor begins as a customer, a delayed response or misplaced file can cost Malawi an opportunity before negotiations even begin,” he said.

The findings add another dimension to Malawi’s challenging business environment, where administrative delays and unreliable public services can increase transaction costs and disrupt commercial activities.

The World Bank’s September 2026 Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM), titled Building Stability to Unlock Growth, similarly identifies inefficient State-owned Enterprises (SoEs) as a constraint on business competitiveness.

“Due to the private sector’s dependence on SoE-provided infrastructure and services, particularly electricity and water, poor SoE performance translates directly into higher costs and diminished business competitiveness,” reads the report.

The Bretton Woods institution observes that SoEs’ economic footprint has expanded considerably, with their assets increasing from 14 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 to 26 percent in 2024, while revenues rose from eight percent to 11 percent.

However, the expansion, partly attributed to capital investments and kwacha depreciation, has not eliminated persistent operational inefficiencies affecting businesses.

Although Cicm’s findings measure customer satisfaction rather than infrastructure performance, both assessments highlight weaknesses in services on which businesses depend.

In response, Itaye proposed a Malawi Service Excellence Compact for 2026–2029, targeting an improvement in national customer satisfaction to 63 percent next year and 72 percent by 2029.

The proposed framework includes standards requiring institutions to acknowledge customer complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 72 hours.

In an interview, Cicm co-founder and executive director Rinos Mautsa said improving service delivery requires institutional commitment beyond frontline employees.

“Customer experience is not a department. Customer experience and good customer service is a responsibility of all of us,” he said.

Mautsa said Cicm was working towards a national customer-service campaign, subject to ministerial approval, to promote accountability, staff training and improved service standards across public and private institutions.

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