Malawi Police are battling minibus operators and touts in Blantyre and Zomba who are staging violent protests as they have resolved to maintain the current capacity of passengers until government reduces fuel prices for them to remain in business.

In Chirimba, Blantyre and Chinamwali in Zomba, police are using teargas to disperse the angry minibus operators who are demanding the reduction of fuel prices.

Police have had to use teargas to disperse people in Chirimba (Malandilova stage) after they blocked the road and stopped other cars from carrying passengers that are crowded in depots.

The minibus operators are demanding government to reduce fuel prices because the seating capacity was reduced to 60% as part of Covid19 preventive measures.

Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) acting spokesperson Peter Mvalo said they will not support the capacity reduction measure unless government meets their demands, which include fuel price reduction.

“For us to continue operating and make some profit amid the restrictions, government should reduce fuel prices. We were able to adhere to the restrictions last year because fuel was cheaper than now,” said Mvalo, who is also Moam chairperson for the Southern Region.

So far, passengers of public commuters are left stranded in most areas as the minibus operators are threatening others who intend to go back to the roads.

In Zomba, there are running battles at Chinamwali township between the police, minibus and taxi drivers who had earlier blocked the M3 road in protest over reduced carrying capacity of vehicles enforced by government.

The drivers are against the reduced carrying capacity, coupled with high fuel prices, which they say has affected their business.

The protests started at around 6 o’clock in the morning, with workers and businesspersons forced to walk to their respective work and business places.

Over 100 police officers are on the ground, some of them firing teargas to disperse the demonstrators.

In Bangwe, Blantyre, minibus drivers and call boys have mounted their own road block, where they are attacking motorbike kabaza operators.

The demonstrators are chanting songs, with the underlying message being “zisinthe” (demand for change).

Meanwhile, police are patrolling the Mugabe Highway in a bid to contain the situation.

The country has been experiencing a rise in Covid-19 cases.

The public health guidelines, among others, restrict passenger capacity for minibuses and buses by half and also limit public gatherings to 50.

The Government of Malawi, together with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Development Partners have teamed up to provide food and cash assistance to over 2.6 million people facing severe food insecurity in Malawi during the current lean season.

The Government, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) in collaboration with its humanitarian partners, has facilitated the development of the 2020/2021 National Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme to address the needs of the affected communities. The Response is aligned with the National COVID-19 Response Plan and anchored in the National Resilience Strategy (NRS) which aims to tackle root causes of food and nutrition insecurity such as over-dependence on rain-fed agriculture and lack of crop diversification.

“The increasing risk of climatic shocks worsens a vicious cycle of food insecurity,” says James Chiusiwa, Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs. “The Government is committed to help vulnerable households mitigate, manage and recover from the impacts of these shocks.” The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) has determined that 2.6 million food insecure people will require assistance during the 2020/2021 Lean Season. This population includes households from rural areas which experienced localized low levels of crop production, as well as people in urban areas who experienced loss of income due to the economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic. “WFP is grateful for International Donors’ support to the response. The support we received will help the Government of Malawi to reach some of the country’s most vulnerable people, who risk slipping further into hunger,” said Benoit Thiry, WFP Malawi Country Director.

With resources mobilised both by the Government of Malawi and Donors (the Joint SDG Fund, as well as the Government of Norway, United Kingdom and United States of America), the response started in December 2020 and will run until March 2021. DoDMA is targeting all 28 districts and four cities of the country with WFP currently supporting provision of assistance in 12 districts. The Government has so far allocated 30,000 metric tonnes of maize from the Strategic Grain Reserve for the programme, while WFP will distribute cash so that people can buy food in the local markets.

The implementation of the Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme requires a total of USD 64.4 million (about MK48.6 billion). A total of USD 50.2 million (about MK 37.8 billion) has been made available, leaving a gap of USD 14.2 million (about MK10.8 billion) in order to reach the full food insecure population of 2.6 million in the 28 districts and four cities during the 2020/2021 Lean Season. DoDMA is appealing to partners, including the private sector, to technically and financially support the implementation of the programme