Devaluation hits hard Malawi minibus business

The Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) has said the number of minibuses plying on the country’s roads have been reduced by 10 percent due to the devaluation of kwacha.

Moam secretary general Coxley Kamange told the Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Wednesday Moam had 12 000 members across the country “but that number has now gone down by 10 percent”.

Kamange said the remaining members are also struggling to renew their membership because of the economic situation in the country.

The Joyce Banda administration devalued and floated the kwacha as one of its measures to fix the country’s ailing economy.

Kamange said the situation has been aggravated by high minibus insurance premiums they are paying, the lowest being at K320 000 (about $888) per annum.

“We are even failing to buy spare parts when the minibuses develop faults. You may have observed that there are a lot of Vanette minibuses. This is not by choice. We are going for the cheaper minibuses because we are not making much profits to buy the expensive ones.

“Vanette minibuses are not meant for business because they are not durable. Even passengers do not feel comfortable in such minibuses,” said Kamange.—Mana