An economic Expert has cautioned government that it should avoid dealing with the country’s economic issues in a classical way.
Adil Chilungo has said this following the remarks by minister of finance, Joseph Mwanamvekha during pre-budget consultation meetings in Mzuzu where he said government will continue to implement its National Economic Recovery Plan (Nerp).
According to Mwanamvekha, people should brace for ‘more tough times ahead’, warning that if government does not promote productivity the country’s economy will not improve.
In an interview with radio Islam, Chilungo said the situation may widen further the social-economic inequality gap that exists among Malawian citizens.
“This is not really a locally made solution we have gone to IMF, we want to borrow some money to fund some projects, so this what the body is imposing as part of their structural adjustment program that they want, so that they should give us the money that we want. Bu to be honest that is not fair, what we are doing will just make the poor more poor and the rich richer’. He explained.
Chilungo has however stressed that solutions to the current problems cannot be achieved if government continues to rely upon external determinations therefore advised authorities to make sure that the solutions are locally determined.
He cited enhancing local productivity like Agriculture, as the one of the available solutions to the current economic situation.
On inflation rate decline from 27.9% to 29.1% for first time since June 2025, Chilungo has described the situation as speculative.
“Let me be honest with Malawians, capitalist system of economy is highly speculative, we are not into real economy, we are not into looking at what we actually produce, so that the unfortunate part”. said Chilungo.
He added that, the current government has been in power for a few months which is not enough to determine production.
In its Consumer Price Index report of November 2025, the National Statistical Office indicated that food inflation dropped from 32.4 to 30.1%.
While applauding government for the development, Chilungo argues that it is too early to celebrate bearing in mind that the country’s inflation is determined by food prices and the farming season is far from over.
Meanwhile, NSO has forecast food availability as traders offload stocks and government maize inputs arrive which will lead to sustained inflation decline in 2026.
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