Business

By Kandi Padambo: During the reform of power sectors in the capacity range of the Malawi Power Market Limited and even those with far bigger installed generation capacities such as Malaysia (34,600 megawatts), Egypt (60,073mw), Republic of South-Africa (64,500mw), Kenya (3,483mw), Tanzania (3,704mw) and Zambia (3,365mw), the role of Single Buyer has been assigned to the national power utility. All the mentioned power markets are dominated by State-owned vertically integrated power utilities and characterized by a sizeable number of privately owned Independent Power Producers (IPPs) responsible for a significant proportion of total power supplied to the market. The preference for this model by policymakers is underpinned by considerations of both electrical engineering and ele...

The Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) says it is exploring ways that will address the problem of shortage of accommodation for its students. The university has over 7,000 undergraduate students but it has accommodation which is enough for 900 students only and the rest operates from rented houses within Blantyre. Speaking during a parents orientation meeting at Comesa Hall in Blantyre as the school received the new cohort of first-year students, Vice Chancellor for MUBAS, Nancy Chitera, said talks are at an advanced stage with some organisations that have shown interest to come and build hostels at the campus. As an immediate solution, MUBAS is targeting the construction of hostels that will accommodate 10,000 students while for the long-term so...

Persistent foreign exchange shortages in the country have had adverse effects on public service delivery and the wider economy, the World Bank has said. In its recent country economic analysis, the bank said the effects on the retail fuel sector are the most visible symptom of much wider challenges. Reads the analysis: “In a context where many businesses are unable to access foreign exchange allocations from commercial banks, a black market for US dollars and other foreign currencies has emerged. “However, organisations importing essential commodities, such as the Central Medical Stores Trust, must rely on official channels. Despite efforts to prioritise these essential imports in foreign exchange allocations, there have been widespread reports of shortages.” In his 2022/2...

Lilongwe City Council has ordered the closure of Wakawaka Market and Central Poultry processing plant in area 36 with immediate effect due to lack of hygiene in the face of rising cholera cases. The closure comes after the Mayor of Lilongwe City, Richard Banda, inspected the market and poultry establishment today Banda said by Wednesday, no merchandise should be sold at the market and the poultry plant as fears of cholera spread in the city continue to grow. Wakawaka Market is a popular shopping centre for city residents but lacks basic hygiene facilities. Central Poultry on the other hand is one of the largest processors and sellers of chickens. The poultry company breeds and rears its stock, fed from its feed mills. The company processes, distributes and markets fresh ...

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says the kwacha will depreciate further against the dollar to trade at K1 048.50 by year end. In its forecast for Malawi contained in the latest Nico Asset Managers Report, the EIU said the kwacha is expected to continue depreciating as exports continue to underperform coupled with lack of monetary stability and high inflation. Kwacha has been losing ground to the dollar Reads the report in part: “The currency will remain overvalued going by the real effective exchange rate with the transition to a market-led exchange rate in 2024 which is likely to induce volatility. “Furthermore, the lack of monetary stability and high inflation in Malawi relative to its trading partners will cause the kwacha to continue to depreciate against the dollar ...