Cama cautions on festive spending

Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) has cautioned Malawians against excessive spending.

In a statement issued yesterday, Cama executive director John Kapito said customers need to make proper budgets before making any expenditures.

Reads the statement in part: “Christmas and New Year are here once again and it is a period that consumers spend most of their money on a number of activities which demand a lot of money for purchase of new things like food, new clothes, organising parties and travel.

“All these  events demand a lot of money and it is important for consumers to make proper planning and budgets before spending any money.”

Among others, Cama has asked consumers to plan all expenses with family, avoid impulse buying or any influence by promotions and advertisements, avoid purchase of unnecessary luxury goods and services, and reduce unnecessary travel.

He also cautioned against borrowing from unregistered money lenders and urged people to protect themselves from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement has described this year’s festive period as the worst, saying consumers do not have money due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has had a huge impact on people’s income.

“Most consumers have been retrenched while most companies have shut down due to the poor economic activities,” it reads further.

Following the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, several institutions have laid off some of their staff in a bid to sustain their operations.

In August, the Department of Tourism indicated that about 35 000 workers in the tourism sector were laid off due to business slowdown following effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department’s then director Isaac Katopola said the industry was one of the hardest hit as almost all local and international bookings were being cancelled.