* Who prepared this MCP Manifesto? Did they think carefully, based on reality and challenges facing the country?;
* Economically from fiscal regime, monetary policy — to trade & industry policy failures? and they thought giving Mk500,000 to a new born is an ideal path?
* Let’s be realistic than driven by electioneering greed for power to the point of taking advantage of the poverty that we created through economic mismanagement
By Duncan Mlanjira
The pledge of a K500,000 ‘future account’ for every new-born baby contained on Malawi Congress Party (MCP) manifesto continues to be challenge as just an electioneering strategy to sway the electorate to vote outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera back to power.
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In its 2025 presidential election campaign manifesto launched on Saturday by Chakwera, promises to create a ‘future account’ in which the government will deposit K500,000 for every newborn child as a measure aimed at ending generational poverty.
Reaching to this, South Africa-based Chief Economist, Chifipa Mhango — who is director of economic research & strategy for his host country’s Don Consultancy Group (DCG) — said he received Chakwera’s pledge with “a spirit of despair”.
“I sat back and went into deep thought, and so many questions came to my mind — are we serious as a country?; who prepared this MCP Manifesto?
“Did they think carefully, based on reality and challenges facing the country?; economically from fiscal regime, monetary policy — to trade & industry policy failures? and they thought giving Mk500,000 to a new born is an ideal path?
Chifipa Mhango
“I am now more scared for the country than just concerned. I will not repeat what I have presented in detail on the Malawi economy but just to say — as political Parties, let’s love our country and its people.
“Let’s be realistic than driven by electioneering greed for power to the point of taking advantage of the poverty that we created through economic mismanagement with unsustainable solutions aimed at poisoning the economy even further.”
“Malawi’s current economic situation has no fiscal space to support consumption policies or handouts, that in my opinion only provide an incentive for population growth, despite it being unrealistic to implement.
“The poverty in Malawi is man-made due to greed by political leadership and steming from the culture of economic mismanagement, which has found new heights under the MCP administration since 2020.
“Malawi is under a turmoil of highest ever inflation rates, with food prices not observed since independence 61 years ago. We have a widening trade deficit, attributed to dwindling export position and escalated imports.
“Our interest rates measures by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) lending rate is at the highest level since 1964 — at 26%. Which policy makers or those that love Malawi would want such an environment to worsen further with dubious interventions of MK500,000 to new born, which is only driven by a greed to power, through electioneering lies.”
The revered economist emphasises that his sentiments are “not about politics but rather economics of our beloved country Malawi — it’s the most disheartening thing for Malawi.
“I am of the view that those that crafted the MCP Manifesto were external consultants (not Malawians at all) — that do not understand the economic reality of Malawi, and only looked at elections and not the future of Malawi.
“It is coming out very clearly in how the Manifesto has been crafted and presented. I know, I will be vindicated soon.
“Malawi economic solutions needs a productive and investment driven supportive environment, to which defeating corruption is a key pillar.
“There is MK264 billion which has been spent between May 2024 and May 2025, which cannot be accounted for properly, as spent under ‘Other Expenditure’, that could have gone towards uplifting of our people through health, better schools, improved education standards and better roads.
“You just don’t eradicate poverty through handouts that, in this proposed case of MCP, are unrealistic — especially considering that the Malawi Kwacha value cannot hold, under the MCP Government.”
Thus Mhango’s assertion that Manifestos should be presented “with realistic solutions and not burdens to an already ailing economy nor lies for political power greed”.
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Just last January, Chifipa offered advice in which he emphasised the potential she holds in as far as tourism is concerned; malawi-needs-to-take-a-new-approach-towards-marketing-her-tourism-industry-by-extending-its-value-proposition-offering/
In the article, Mhango — who is also Director of Economic Affairs for Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) — touched on manifesto formulation; saying: “One of the things that has always been on my mind has been, what effort and thinking informs Party Manifestos in Malawi? To those assigned such responsibilities, how do they apply their mind on issues?
“How different are Manifestos across political parties? When one talks of tourism, for instance, what comes to their mind? When the country is promoting tourism, what strategies have they applied and what informed such strategy?
“Is there clear data to validate the strategy? How updated is the data? Here are my thoughts — countries that have planners that think beyond their time, think 20 years ahead.
“That means the current process is about laying the foundation for development towards achieving that goal. When one talks of tourism, and you define it on holiday makers — and design policies and infrastructure that suits that — then one is living in a different planet, or excluded country on development,” he had said.
