Consumers had to dig deep into their pockets in May as the cost of living rose by three percent, a Basic Needs basket (BNB) study by Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) shows.
During the month under review, Mzuzu City was the most expensive as a family of six spent over K130 000 on basic necessities.
In contrast, the cost of living—the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living—in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Zomba was a little softer as a family of six needed K119 000, K113 000 and K115 000, respectively, to earn a living.
The study also sampled municipalities such as Karonga, which showed that a family of six spent over K122 000 compared to Mangochi’s K96 000.
Commenting on the findings, CfSC executive director Jose Kuppens, in an interview on Monday, said under normal circumstance, the cost of living could have been going down because farmers are selling their produce.
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito agreed that the cost of living has gone up.
Kapito called for a review of the minimum wage, currently at K25 000, saying it has been too low for a long time.
During the review period, a 50 kilogramme bag of maize in Lilongwe was sold at K8 429, K8 200 in Zomba, K9 000 in Blantyre, Mzuzu K9 333, Karonga K6 500 and Mangochi K10 000.
