Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) firebrand Ben Phiri (Thyolo Central) has unleashed a searing attack on the 2025-2026 national budget, branding it nothing short of a "fraudulent document riddled with lies" and a "monument to fiscal irresponsibility."
Delivering his brutal critique of the budget statement, Phiri accused the Malawi Congress Party (MCP)-led administration of running the nation into the ground with reckless abandon, gross incompetence, and a blatant disregard for the suffering masses.
"This budget is not just flawed; it is an outright insult to Malawians," Phiri thundered, standing in for DPP's finance spokesperson Joseph Mwanamveka. "It is a toxic cocktail of empty promises, creative accounting, and economic malpractice."
Phiri lambasted the government for dragging Malawi deeper into economic chaos, slamming the administration for creating a nightmare scenario of soaring inflation, joblessness, and fiscal mismanagement.
He painted a damning portrait of economic decay, accusing President Lazarus Chakwera's government of fueling the collapse of livelihoods since the DPP exited power in 2020.
"Fuel prices have exploded, the cost of basic goods is obscene, and the investment climate is toxic," Phiri charged. "This government is clueless, incompetent, and downright dangerous."
Citing hard-hitting figures, Phiri noted that petrol prices have shot up from K690.50 in 2020 to a staggering K2,530 per litre, while diesel now sits at K2,734 - choking households and businesses alike.
"Malawians are suffocating under the weight of your failures," he barked. "This administration has turned the country into an economic graveyard."
Phiri eviscerated the MCP's much-trumpeted promise to create one million jobs, describing it as "the cruelest hoax ever played on the Malawian people."
"Instead of creating jobs, you have overseen the decimation of over 800,000 livelihoods," he revealed, citing mass retrenchments at public institutions such as ADMARC, PTC, and the Commodity Exchange.
"You promised hope but delivered despair. You promised jobs but gave Malawians the pink slip."
Turning his sights on Malawi's strained relations with the IMF, Phiri accused the government of squandering the once-stable Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program left intact by the DPP.
"You inherited a working IMF program and still found a way to wreck it," Phiri scolded. "As a result, inflation has spiraled past 35%, and food inflation is now terrorizing households at over 44%."
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According to Phiri, this failure has obliterated Malawi's forex reserves and condemned millions to destitution.
"You have wrecked the ship and are now patching holes with lies."
Phiri tore into what he termed the "morally bankrupt" budget allocations, reserving special outrage for the bloated K67.3 billion earmarked for the State House and OPC.
"In the middle of a humanitarian crisis, you are splurging billions on presidential luxuries while ordinary Malawians go to bed hungry," he fumed. "This budget is a grotesque betrayal of national priorities."
He slammed the fiscal plan as a "cynical electioneering gimmick," accusing the MCP of using public funds to bankroll its political survival.
"This is not a national budget - it is a campaign war chest disguised as economic policy," Phiri declared.
Ending his blistering assault, Phiri issued a rallying call to Malawians to reject what he called "an economic death sentence" and entrust the DPP to rescue the nation from its tailspin.
"This government is out of touch, out of ideas, and out of time," Phiri said. "The DPP will return to restore order, discipline, and sanity to the economy."
In a bold assertion, he touted the DPP and its leader, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, as Malawi's only hope.
"As every serious poll shows, DPP is poised to reclaim leadership, and when we do, we will replace this fraudulent budget with a people-centered one that delivers."
Phiri concluded with a cutting jab: "The clock is ticking for this failed administration. Malawians deserve better - and DPP is ready to deliver."
