“Malawi in crisis; government has failed to manage the economy”

AACC Economic Justice & Accountability Champion in Malawi, Rev. Baxton Maulidi

* The plan by the government to revoke licences of second hand clothes wholesale traders following their increase of prices is being reactive to the problems

* It is like shooting itself on the foot because the beneficiary are not only the Asians of Malawian origin but the vendors themselves as end-traders of kaunjika

By Duncan Mlanjira

All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) Economic Justice & Accountability Champion in Malawi, Rev. Baxton Maulidi contends that the country is in a in crisis, adding that the government has failed to manage the economy.

Rev. Maulidi is reacting to what has happened today in Lilongwe when vendors of second hand clothes (kaunjika) stormed Parliament in protest to the acceleration of kaunjika prices which makes the vendors unable to purchase the bales, saying this is a wake-up call for government that it has failed to solve the economic crisis.

He thus implores on the government to come up with proper plans to address the economic challenges being faced in the country, that is leading to high inflation and skyrocketing prices of basic household goods.

Maulidi again says the plan by the government to revoke licences of the kaunjika wholesale traders following their increase of prices of their goods is being reactive to the problems, saying it is like shooting itself on the foot — because the beneficiary are not only the Asians of Malawian origin but the vendors themselves as end-traders of the second hand clothes.

“This is the only business that the kaunjika vendors deal in and they cannot look for an alternative overnight,” Rev. Maulidi said. “What the government is planning to revoke the licences will hurt the vendors more because it will create a disruption of the supply chain in the economy of Malawi.

“The kaunjika wholesale traders couldn’t have raised prices of their products if the economy was on the right track. They import the second hand clothes and due to scarcity of forex, they are probably getting it from the parallel market.”

Minister of Trade and Industry, Sosten Gwengwe announced today that the government has, with immediate effect, revoked licenses for all wholesale traders who import second-hand clothing bales, demanding that they put their business to a halt.

Gwengwe made the pronouncement in Parliament in response to a petition by the kaunjika market vendors, who were protesting against high costs of living and unpredictable market conditions.

He assured vendors who gathered at Parliament that government is taking a decisive action to address the challenges they are facing due to the rising prices of second-hand products on the market.

He also said government is committed to restoring fair pricing and as part of the solution, his Ministry has revoked all licenses for the kaunjika wholesale traders suppliers of second-hand goods, aiming to bring order to the market — further stating that affected shops will remain closed until the situation normalises.

But the AACC Economic Justice & Accountability Champion maintains that by revoking the licences, which ultimately affects the end-traders, being the vendors themselves that stormed Parliament, “the government will absolutely kill the economy”.

“The government was not supposed to be reactive in solving the state of the economy but should have devised ways to manage it effectively way back before reaching this stage.

“They should come out with clear plans of solving the economy between now and September for people to see some change because the challenges of high prices are all over.

“Otherwise, the government should just admit that it has failed and when things reach this far, the best way is to share with others to seek guidance,” he said, while emphasising that banning kaunjika is not the solution to solve the economic crisis that has come about because of scarcity of forex.

“As AACC Economic Justice & Accountability Champion in Malawi, I stress that the government is not supposed to be reactive to economic challenges it is facing but by being proactive in making sure it is providing the right solutions.

“The revocation of the kaunjika wholesale traders will bring more problems to the economy. The vendors’ action today at Parliament sends the signal that the government has failed,” concluded Rev. Maulidi.

Meanwhile, Gwengwe assured the vendors that the government will engage their committee to find sustainable solutions and ensure price stability in the second-hand goods market.

Also talking to the vendors was Minister of Local Government, Unity & Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda, who assured them that the government would make available resources to make sure they continued trading.

In the august House, which is currently meeting for the 51st session to discuss the 2025-2026 national budget, Gwengwe said as a listening government bent on improving the socio-economic status of the citizens, it would implement measures to cushion the market traders and Malawians at large against the challenges.

“As of this moment, we have revoked all wholesale traders’ licences; as such, they must stop all operations until they register,” he said, while also acknowledging the current challenges that Malawian business owners are facing.

The revocation of licenses follows the price surge for second-hand clothing bales on the market, which has resulted in the closure of a lot of small-scale second-hand clothing businesses in the country.

And briefing the House, Chimwendo acknowledged the rise of commodity prices but was quick to assure the members that the government had come up with measures, details of which will be announced by Gwengwe in the House on Thursday.—Content from Parliament by Priscilla Phiri & Yewo Munthali, Malawi News Agency (MANA)