Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has cut short his visit to Egypt for this year’s international climate negotiations.
In a post on social media, the Malawian president said he was moved by the chorus of jeers and jeers that followed his convoy on its way to the airport to fly to Egypt. Motorists across the country, furious at having to queue for days to refuel, had had enough and made sure he knew it.
The fuel shortage began a month ago, fueled by an acute shortage of foreign exchange that prevented fuel imports.
Malawi’s main foreign exchange earner, tobacco, has plunged in line with the decline in smoking worldwide.
But tobacco is just the most prominent casualty of long-term economic malaise for a landlocked country that relies on imports.
Gasoline, officially $2 a liter, has sold for $5 a liter on the black market.
Frank Siyabi, a taxi driver in the capital, spent two nights at a gas station several times during the crisis. His vehicle, his livelihood, has run out of fuel on the highway multiple times.
He accused the country’s leadership of a lack of compassion. “We have a president who travels all the time. He is draining foreign currency that should be used for the acquisition of crucial imports.
Chakwera’s return did not solve the fuel problems. But, a few days later, several tanker trucks arrived to alleviate the crisis. The Malawi National Oil Company said the shortage of foreign exchange meant the core problem had not been resolved.
On Tuesday, the government fired the chief executive of the oil company, Helen Buluma. She said she had come under relentless pressure from senior officials in the Chakwera administration to award fuel contracts to selected companies, creating profitable monopolies.
This article first appeared on The continentthe pan-African weekly produced in collaboration with the mail and guardian. It is designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Download your free copy here.
