@Grant Gombwa⚡️🇲🇼 how do we get more people from #malawi on to nostr? It is hard to bootstrap on nostr. we must band together. times will get harder before they get better.

GOVERNMENT HALTS PRICE RISES Wow - clap, clap, clap! Have these price control measures ever worked anywhere? There are countless examples to the contrary, yet here we are. The exchange rate set by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (this is a whole different topic) coupled with a de-facto fuel price cap (regulated by the energy regulator MERA), has resulted in increasing fuel shortages. If such subsidies (which is what these essentially are) are not sufficiently financed, economics 101 dictates a shortage on the supply side, as experienced in both the lacking forex- and fuel supply in Malawi. Much of the donor goodwill has been exhausted and loan facilities are drying up with the realisation that they can not be serviced or paid back. The recent suspension of USAID projects in Malawi - a result of a recent Trump Executive Order - is not helping - a grim realisation of what it means to be dependent on the goodwill of others. One could see this as a clutching at straws by the Malawi executive government. The whole country is in a desperate situation and this is an election year, adding to the pressure for the executive. Without the financial muscle, the vote of the electorate cannot easily be bought and the naked facts bubble to the surface, despite the ongoing political rhetoric of explanations and excuses. Meanwhile everyone is facing rising prices in this dire economic outlook. The low income population is affected the hardest, where any disposable income quickly evaporates. Government is looked upon as a saviour, while this is arguably the source of the problem. Politicians responds with popular decisions, which invariably worsen the situation for the people. For reference: The GPD per capita in Malawi is somewhere at USD 1-2 per day, which is amongst the global bottom. If all this does blow up in time for the elections in May (unlikely, but possible), there is no real viable political alternative. The problem is systemic, deep rooted and has been growing over many decades. There is no easy fix available - the solution can only come from the people with a unified will, effort and most of all: a need. Unfortunately things are likely to get worse, before they get better - we have not hit rock bottom yet. We are very resilient! #pricecontrols #forex #fuelcrisis #malawi #trump Reference

The Times Group

Government halts price rises

By Kingsley Jassi: The Ministry of Industry and Trade has ordered 11 companies to halt recent price increases for fertiliser and animal feed, citin...

Reason has prevailed to some degree it seems, after a more restrictive and more draconian law was passed last year, regulating foreign exchange. The banks took this issue to court, after it had passed through parliament. How could this pass parliamentary scrutiny? #forex #malawi #natbank

WAITING FOR FUEL - Blanytre, Malawi A scene from downtown Blantyre today - the CBD at a stand still with vehicles waiting for fuel at a filling station and well beyond. When forex is in short supply, we cannot afford to pay for fuel imports. Without the price adjusting upwards, the demand remains mostly unchanged, resulting in a shortage, rationing and imperfect distribution. #fuelcrisis #forex #malawi

More fuel chaos in Malawi. We don't have the forex to pay for imports including and especially fuel, but also other commodities. Fuel makes up a big chunk of the import costs and it is where we first see the problem on the streets. Over the years, our agricultural exports shrunk and the difference has been covered in loans and donor funding, making us more dependent. Where did we take the wrong turn? 😭 #fuelcrisis #forex #malawi

FUEL SITUATION IN MALAWI forwarded as seen on 5th January 2024 on WhatsApp. Where are we heading? #malawi #forex #fuelcrisis Yesterday Was a day I experienced that most Malawians are heartless and flourish in the midst of the suffering Masses. I spent the whole of my day at a filling Station right in Blantyre. One thing I noted at the filling station was that there were a lot of people without cars moving around doing nothing but deliberately trying to cause confusion. The time the fuel tanker came and after dropping the product I saw drama developing. The whole process was hijacked by the so called Doba, Dobas, people without cars. They took control of controlling cars thereby deliberately causing confusion. They were using Minibuses, Motorcycles and some cars to fill their Jerry Cans, would connive with the fuel attendants, security personnel, pretend as they are filling cars but in the cars were Jerry Cans and big Zigubu. Police were just watching not acting, it seems some are part of the syndicate. The worst thing to happen was, of all the cars on the Que only a quarter of the cars got fuel from the pump, most of the fuel was sold to people without cars but had Zigubu concealed in Minibuses and some cars. I felt sorry, some people had slept at the filling Station expecting to get some fuel, some had their fuel finished while on Que. When the attendants declared that the pumps had no more fuel, I saw Ladies weeping and some got stranded with no fuel in their Vehicles. Immediately after that, Doba Dobas started selling the fuel they bought in Jerry Cans to stranded vehicle owners. A 5 Litres was being sold at K25000-30000 within the vicinity while the Police were just watching without making arrests. I had no option with others but to buy at an inflated price. In all this, I point a figure at MERA and Police. Why should people without cars be allowed to loiter in filling stations and overtake security formations to control proceedings at filling Stations. MERA officers in Blantyre need to be pro active, they must be present at every fuel station taking delivery of fuel, Reprimand filling station owners for allowing people without vehicles to be present at their premises. To supervise Police officers on site and allow them to make arrests. Reprimand fuel attendants who connive with Dobadobas. Enforce rationing of fuel to motorists by filling stations. To be honest almost all the filling Stations I have visited are doing this, so it's up to Mera to do their investigations as this practice is rampart in almost all Blantyre filling stations.

Recent Fuel Shortages in Mzuzu are witness to the dire Forex shortage in Malawi. When we consistently consume more than we produce, ultimately the chickens come home to roost. Short term "bail out" loans can only do so much and they are... well, temporary measures. We need to solve the root cause problem sooner or later - increase exports and the can afford our imports. Alternatively sooner or later we will be forced to severely cut our imports, which will be a hard pill to swallow for sure. #fuelcrisis #forex #malawi

Recent Fuel Shortages in Mzuzu are witness to the dire Forex shortage in Malawi. When we consistently consume more than we produce, ultimately the chickens come home to roost. Short term "bail out" loans can only do so much and they are... well, temporary measures. We need to solve the root cause problem sooner or later - increase exports and the can afford our imports. Alternatively sooner or later we will be forced to severely cut our imports, which will be a hard pill to swallow for sure. #fuelcrisis #forex #malawi

Another fuel crisis in Malawi. These are a part of daily life now. The price is secondary when there is no product. For those that have fuel, it is a bliss to drive on the uncongested roads, the others have to wait in line or buy from questionable sources. Productive life energy wasted sourcing fuel... #malawi #inflation #forex

It is fascinating how Africa is still a white space on the World Map. Or have we come full circle and are ahead now? We have another fuel crisis in Malawi. #malawi #africa

When you run out of fuel without chigubu 😛

This Daily Times clipping mandates a maximum price of K0.27 for a beer. Today the same beer costs about K4,000 in a hotel. Apparently even in this distant past, the government knew better and thought it wise to interfere with the economy, yet the price of a beer has increased by a factor of 14,815 since then. If anyone knows which year this may have been from, it would be interesting to calculate the average annual inflation for this period. 🍻 #malawi #inflation

Ethiopian Airlines has suspended ticketing in Malawi (again). The financial situation is progressively deteriorating in the country due to the unsustainable trade deficit. #malawi #forex #trade #iata

The staple food in Malawi is refined white maize. It's price increase is more moderate than that of imported goods, as it is locally produced and often at a subsistence (read labour intensive) level. More than half of Malawi's CPI is made up of food (most of which is likely maize). It is quite possible that the poorer half of the population spends this percentage on food. Contrast with the US CPI weight where food only has a 13% representation. This shows how very personal inflation is and how the number might be manipulated to fit a narrative. #inflation #malawi Winston Chruchill famously said: "I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself". Sources: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/relative-importance/historical-cost-weights-cpi-u.xlsx https://cms.nsomalawi.mw/api/download/399/NSO-CPI-September--2024---Stats-Flash.xlsx