By Chisomo Phiri
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamveka on Thursday dismissed recent media reports that Malawi has the highest fuel prices in Africa, describing them as false and misleading.
Speaking during a press briefing on the fuel hike in the capital Lilongwe,Mwanamveka said the country imported about 504 million litres of fuel in 2019, but imports have since risen to approximately 744 million litres due to increased demand.
He said Malawi, as a small economy, had been subsidising fuel prices in a way that benefited neighbouring countries, a situation he described as unsustainable.
The finance minister disclosed that the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) currently owes fuel suppliers over K1 trillion as a result of prolonged fuel underpricing.
According to Mwanamveka, MERA has also failed to remit about K593 billion to the Roads Fund Administration(RFA), the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP), and the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), a development that has negatively affected national development efforts.
He said the recent upward adjustment of fuel prices will enable the government to implement development projects more effectively.
Mwanamveka added that the government is working tirelessly to stabilise the kwacha, while the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC ) will be on the ground to ensure that commodity prices are not increased unrealistically.
He further said that people will soon be able to access loans from the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF), which is currently recovering loans from previous beneficiaries.
The minister also addressed social media rumours alleging that the government intends to introduce a tax on death gratuity and implement a global tax.
He said these claims are baseless and appear aimed at undermining the country’s ongoing economic recovery efforts.
Reflecting on his recent visit to Arab countries, the minister described the trip as productive, highlighting that Malawi has secured funding for key projects, including the construction of Blantyre District Hospital and the upgrading of Chileka International Airport.
On her part,
Minister of Energy and Mining, Jean Mathanga concurred with Mwanamveka saying Malawi’s fuel prices had remained lower than those of neighbouring countries because the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM) was abandoned for the past three years, a move that negatively affected the collection of road levies.
Mathanga explained that during the previous administration, fuel became scarce, forcing motorists to spend long hours queuing for the commodity.
She said the recent upward adjustment of fuel prices is expected to eliminate such challenges, as the current government has reinstated the APM to ensure consistent fuel supply.
According to the minister, fixed fuel prices which the previous administration used also encouraged fuel smuggling, as price differences with neighbouring countries made the malpractice to be rampant.
She added that adopting realistic fuel pricing will help curb smuggling.
