Economic expert Thomas Ngoma is urging the Malawi government to adopt a Currency Board Arrangement to combat chronic inflation and economic instability, Maravi Express reports. Ngoma argues that discretionary monetary policy has repeatedly failed to deliver stability, noting that Malawians have lived with inflation exceeding 20 percent for decades as if it were a normal occurrence. He advocates that a currency board would break the cycle of monetised government deficits and unstable exchange rates by replacing political discretion with strict rules and fiscal discipline.
Update: The National Advocacy Platform has formally written to President Peter Mutharika demanding an urgent review of fuel levies, according to Nyasa Times. The rights activists warn that the current taxation structure is amplifying the cost of living crisis domestically and pushing vulnerable households deeper into poverty. The group has tabled 13 recommendations, including the temporary suspension of selected levies to absorb the price shock, noting that the government's previous refusal to cut taxes leaves consumers fully exposed to global market volatility.
In a related report, economic scholar Ben Dzolowere described the recent fuel price increments as unrealistic, cautioning that rising transport and production costs will worsen food insecurity. He warned that these increases will inevitably drive up the prices of basic goods and called for urgent government intervention to protect vulnerable households.