‘All citizens must earnestly Pray for Malawi as evil seems to have captured the nation’—AACC Economic Justice & Accountability Champion Rev. Maulidi

Rev. Baxton Maulidi

* Instead of working to solve the economic crisis, it seems politicians are fighting for power and relevance while poor Malawian are craving just for food and security

* It is painful that Malawians do trust these politicians but politicians do not regard Malawians when they ascend to power

* What is happening is human rights violation and Malawians MUST NOT ALLOW THIS TORTURE

By Duncan Mlanjira

As Malawi is grappling with hard economic challenges due to high inflation rate, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) Economic Justice & Accountability Champion, Rev. Baxton Maulidi contends that evil seems to have captured the nation — thus is asking all citizens to earnestly Pray for this country.

“All these challenges are due to mismanagement of the economy by those in authority,” says Rev. Maulidi. “But instead of working to solve the crisis, it seems politicians are fighting for power and relevance while poor Malawian are craving just for food and security.

“It is painful that Malawians do trust these politicians but politicians do not regard Malawians when they ascend to power. What is happening is human rights violation and Malawians MUST NOT ALLOW THIS TORTURE.”

“Kodi inu Andale aMalawi anakulakwirani chani (you, politicians, what wrong did Malawians commit to deserve this appalling situation?” says Rev. Maulidi ahead of the September 16, 2025 General Elections.

The AACC Economic Justice & Accountability Champion further says the current government administration is failing to manage economy, which is evidenced by high public debt due to over-expenditure and lack of fiscal discipline.

“As we speak now public debt is at over MWK16 trillion (about US$9 billion. With Malawi’s population estimated at 20 million people, it means every Malawian — young or old — has about MWK800,000 debt to pay to banks on behalf of the government. 

“This is very unfair — that is why we ask Malawians to pray for this country because evil seems to have captured the nation,” says Rev. Maulidi.

He made a reference to the World Bank’s biannual report, the Malawi Economic Monitor which analyses economic and structural developments in the country and was released in January under the theme ‘Unlocking the Potential of Malawi’s Mining Sector’.

Some key highlights from the report included that the government is struggling with stalled fiscal consolidation, lower revenue collection and increasing debt.

The report further said Malawi’s economy is facing headwinds with negative per capita growth in 2024, primarily due to a severe drought and ongoing foreign-exchange shortages. GDP growth is only at 1.8%, while population growth is at 2.6%.

In response to this Rev. Maulidi says: “The World Bank report offered some solutions to critical areas it identified for the government to act on as key priorities, but it seems there is inaction by the State players,”

“The MWK16 trillion unlicensed debt is just too high for Malawians to bear, that is why we are faced with the continued high inflation rate that is leading Malawians to more poverty than before since prices of basic, but essential household items are skyrocketing on daily basis.

“This is unacceptable and must be acted on as quickly as possible by the State authorities. You can only be relevant to Malawians if you have improved on food security and other basic needs of the poor Malawians.”

Presented by World Bank’s Country Manager, Firas Raad, the key priority areas in the Economic Monitor report, included: 

* Restoring macroeconomic stability through fiscal consolidation, debt restructuring and exchange-rate reforms;

* Boosting investment and exports by removing fuel subsidies and developing transparent mining revenue systems; and

* Building resilience through disaster risk management and expanding energy access.

It underscored the urgent need for reforms to stabilise the economy and pave the way for sustainable development and stressed that inaction will lead to further economic deterioration, while decisive action could enable significant growth over the next five years.

Raad also faulted the lack of inaction in implementing macroeconomic reforms as a key factor in Malawi’s failure to economically recover from a series of exogenous shocks impacting the country.

He warned that failure to implement necessary reforms heightens economic risks and undermines long-term development prospects — thus emphasising on the need for Malawi to shift from an agriculture-dependent economy and to explore the mining sector as an alternative driver of economic growth.

The British High Commissioner to Malawi, Fiona Ritchie also added credence to the report’s findings and urged the government to “double down on its efforts to control public spending and reduce domestic borrowing”.

She also advised the government “to reduce inflation, including by no longer financing the excessive budget deficit by selling government debt to the Reserve Bank”.

“I don’t underestimate the challenges, but businesses can’t grow and create much needed jobs, and exports and mining can’t catalyse economic growth if inflation is too high, Forex is not available and excessive public borrowing crowds out private investment,” she had said.

* Weather updates