Malawi's fuel crisis has sent bus fares through the roof — leaving skint commuters hitching lifts on the back of pickup trucks just to get to work. Fares have DOUBLED on some routes almost overnight, with passengers from Area 25 to Lilongwe's Old Town now stung for K6,000, up from K4,000. It's even worse heading [...]
Nyasa Times News Desk
Nyasa Times Reporter
33 mins ago · 2 min read
Malawi's fuel crisis has sent bus fares through the roof — leaving skint commuters hitching lifts on the back of pickup trucks just to get to work.
Fares have DOUBLED on some routes almost overnight, with passengers from Area 25 to Lilongwe's Old Town now stung for K6,000, up from K4,000.
It's even worse heading to Mponela in Dowa, where fares have rocketed to K11,000 — up from K6,000.
A fruit seller Brenda Tholo, says the hikes are wrecking her small business. She now pays K2,500 each way instead of K1,500.
"That makes me spend K5,000 per return trip," she said. "I have no option, but pass on the amount to the buyers."
Motorbike taxi driver Alfred Kwepeya says he sometimes hunts for fuel ALL DAY — and black market pumps are charging a jaw-dropping K20,000 a litre.
"I cannot afford petrol on the black market," he said.
Long-distance routes have been hit hardest. Mzuzu to Karonga now costs around K60,000, up from K40,000. Blantyre to Lilongwe has smashed past K55,000, up from roughly K40,000.
Minibus bosses say they're stuck in an impossible bind.
Coaxley Kamange, of the Minibus Owners Association, said: "The minibus operators spend more time searching for fuel, once they get it, they want to recover the cost. That's why we are having unstable bus fares."
He insists drivers are told NOT to buy black market fuel — but with pumps running dry, patience is wearing thin.
Passenger chief Don Napuwa says fed-up commuters are now choosing to walk rather than pay eye-watering fares.
"We can only ask government to solve the problem," he said. "Otherwise, gains they have made in terms of economic recovery will go several steps backward."
Behind the chaos, Malawi's state fuel buyer Nocma is scrambling to secure supplies, blaming a worsening dollar shortage for the mess.
The firm is now hunting for a massive 440,000 tonnes of fuel through ports in Mozambique and Tanzania — and has even started asking suppliers for new payment deals to ease the pressure on Malawi's dwindling foreign currency reserves.
GPGrace Phiri
2h agoFinally some clarity on this. Thanks for the detailed breakdown.
JBJames Banda
1h agoI hope the authorities actually follow through this time.
There is a kind of honesty that only arrives once denial has become impossible, and Malawi's health system produced two versions of it in the space of a single news cycle this week. At Kamuzu Central Hospital, it took the form of a number: nearly 5,000 people now waiting for surgery, a queue grown so [...]
Standard Bank Malawi has thrown a lifeline to league leaders Blue Eagles FC, unveiling a blockbuster K250 million sponsorship deal in a glittering ceremony at the Malawi Police Service Headquarters in Lilongwe. The timing could hardly have been sweeter for the Eagles, who were handed the eye-watering cheque just as they sit proudly at the [...]
The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening and institutionalising collaboration between the two institutions. The signing ceremony took place on Monday at the Ministry's headquarters at Capital Hill in Lilongwe. Minister of Natural Resources Patricia Wiskes said the MoU [...]
A Lilongwe resident has submitted a draft Constitutional Amendment Bill to Parliament proposing far-reaching reforms to Malawi's Vice-Presidency, including ending the automatic succession of a Vice-President to the presidency and making the office entirely appointive and removable by the President, Nyasa Times has learnt. In a proposal addressed to Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer [...]