Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha has told Malawians that they must be ready to suffer now so that the economy can improve in the future. Speaking in Mzuzu during pre-budget talks, Mwanamvekha said the government will continue with tough economic measures under the National Economic Recovery Plan (NERP), even though life is already very hard for most people.
When asked when prices will go down and life will become easier, the minister could not give a clear answer.
Instead, he told Malawians to be patient and accept the pain.
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"You need to suffer in a short while for good things to come in future," he said.
What is NERP?
The National Economic Recovery Plan (NERP) is government's programme to fix Malawi's broken economy. Government says it will:
Control spending
Increase taxes
Reduce subsidies
Pay debts
And try to stabilise the kwacha
The goal is to make Malawi's economy stable and attractive to investors again. But in the short term, it means higher prices, higher taxes and less government support for ordinary people.
Life is Already Hard
Malawi's economy is in serious trouble.
Inflation is 27.9%, meaning prices keep rising
The kwacha is weak -- officially K1,751 per dollar, but on the streets it is around K3,800
Interest rates are very high -- banks lend at about 37%, making loans unaffordable
The economy is growing slowly -- only 2.7%, far below what Malawi needs
This means food, transport, rent and basic goods are all expensive, while salaries remain low.
Even so, Mwanamvekha says government will not reduce taxes such as VAT, even though churches and civil society asked him to.
He said lowering taxes would be the wrong move.
"This is a bitter pill that Malawians must swallow," he said.
Why Government Is Doing This
Mwanamvekha said government is under heavy financial pressure.
More than 90 percent of the money government collects is used to pay:
Wages and salaries
Interest on loans
Pensions and gratuities
Malawi now owes K22.4 trillion, with more than half borrowed locally. This forces government to pay K2.27 trillion just in interest this year.
This leaves very little money for development, hospitals, roads or councils.
Because of this, government says it has no choice but to:
Keep taxes high
Cut spending
And push painful reforms
Churches and Civil Society Push Back
Church groups and civil society organisations told government that Malawians are already overtaxed and suffering too much.
The CCAP Synod of Livingstonia said instead of raising taxes, government should:
Stop corruption
Cut waste
Reform mining
And collect taxes fairly
They also criticised government for wasting money by seconding civil servants to universities while still paying them full salaries.
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Civil society groups said:
VAT at 17.5% is too high
Corruption wastes 25-30% of public money
And poor people suffer the most
Local councils also complained that government is not sending them money, meaning roads, clinics and development projects are not being funded.
What Happens Next
Despite all these concerns, Mwanamvekha said government will continue with NERP and that the 2026/27 budget will focus on:
Stabilising the economy
Food security
And protecting key social services
For now, Malawians are being told to endure hardship today in the hope that the economy will improve tomorrow -- even though no clear timeline has been given for when relief will come.
