President Peter Mutharika has called on all Members of Parliament (MPs) to rise above partisan politics to tackle the country’s economic woes.
He made the remarks on Friday, during the official opening of the 52nd session of Parliament in Lilongwe.
“Mr. Speaker, Sir, as leaders, we bear a noble responsibility to build our country with passion and dedication. As we do so, let us place national interests above personal gains. I am confident that we will rise to the occasion and build a better Malawi together,” he said
Mutharika said he was deeply concerned with the state of the country’s economy, as all major macroeconomic indicators are misaligned.
“Inflation is high at 28.2 percent, up from 8.6 percent in 2020. Persistent shortages of forex have resulted in intermittent fuel supply and critical shortages of fertilizer and medical drugs. The forex scarcity has also driven up the prices of nearly all essential items including food, soap, salt, and sugar, placing immense pressure on households.
“Mr. Speaker, Sir, owing to the misaligned macroeconomic indicators, both revenue and expenditure for this fiscal year have been performing poorly. Government has not been able to mobilize enough revenue to implement its programmes.
“Overall growth projection remains weak with GDP projected to grow at 2.8 percent in 2025 from 1.7 percent in 2024 mainly attributed to low agricultural productivity, supply chain constraints, and limited industrial capacity.
“Mr. Speaker, Sir, the national deficit has surged from MK558.9 billion in 2020 to the current K2.4 trillion. Similarly, as of April 2025 total public debt had reached MK21.6 trillion from MK4.1 trillion in 2020, underscoring mounting fiscal pressures and long-term sustainability concerns,” said Mutharika
He said as a solution, government has already started taking steps to deal with the ‘prevailing undesirable situation’ by engaging financiers on debt treatment and raising more financing through grants, among others.
