Opposition queries price hikes

Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa has accused the Tonse Alliance administration of causing misery to Malawians instead of taking them to the figurative promised land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey.

Speaking in Parliament, he said there is need to find short-term solutions to protect Malawians from economic hardships caused by price hikes.

Nankhumwa said that during the campaign for court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election held on June 23 2020, Tonse Alliance administration promised Malawians affordable prices of commodities such as cooking oil, fuel, sugar, salt and bread, but the opposite is happening.

He said: “The Tonse Alliance claimed to have solutions to challenges facing the country. They said they will take the country to Canaan. Today, I stand here as a sad person because it is clear that Malawians have been sold a dummy by the government.

“One year down the line, Malawians have realised that they are in a worse situation. Instead of Canaan, the Tonse government has delivered one hell on earth.”

Nankhumwa said that Malawians are being subjected to punitive taxes, including some which even Malawi Revenue Authority cannot explain.

In his response, Minister of Trade Sosten Gwengwe said it is not a secret that prices of goods have gone up globally.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the global economy and there is a need to look at post-Covid recovery.

The minister said government is putting in place measures to ensure commodity prices stabilise.

Gwengwe said already the kwacha is beginning to stabilise. He said that will have an impact on prices of commodities.

On the cost of cooking oil, he said there is a need for companies in Malawi to be utilising the raw materials in the country and process them into cooking oil.

The minister said the government has also arranged that more companies should be involved in the cooking oil business to bring the cooking oil prices down.

“Companies that can import cheaper cooking oil should come forward. If the market can be flooded with cooking oil, prices will go down,” he said.

The minister also called on the opposition and other stakeholders to work with government in finding solutions to the challenges.

Malawi has been experiencing rises in prices of goods some of which have been influenced by taxes. The economic situation has also been worsened by Covid-19 as people lost businesses or jobs. Further, lockdowns induced by Covid-19 also affected flow of goods which in turn led to high demand and an increase in prices.