By THE SATIRIST
Once again, Malawi has passed its national budget. A weighty K8.05 trillion—part aspiration, part arithmetic, and mostly a prayer. At the heart of it, Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda did what every Finance Minister must do: paint a portrait of resilience using the brushstrokes of debt, donor goodwill, and patriotic defiance. It was not a bad budget. In fact, if budgets could be judged by poetic intention, we’d be finalists at the Fiscal Grammys.
But let’s call a spade a spade. This is not just a budget. It’s a survival strategy in a world where countries like Malawi don’t set the rules—they survive them.
The Chakwera Equation: Doing What One Can With What One Has
Let’s be fair. This administration did not invent foreign exchange shortages. It did not pioneer the politics of patronage. And it certainly didn’t teach the Kwacha how to depreciate. It inherited a political economy booby-trapped by decades of short-termism and reckless governance.
Chakwera’s government walked in wearing reformist shoes, only to find itself marching through fiscal quicksand—landmines left by those who claimed to have led before.
The UDF, with its liberalisation frenzy, taught us to privatise without preparation.
The DPP, ever masters of opacity, managed to balloon debt and silence dissent in equal measure.
And then there’s Joyce Banda, under whose administration Cashgate exploded, proving that while Malawi may be poor, our creativity in looting knows no bounds.
So yes, Chakwera’s hands are not entirely clean, but they are certainly not the first to be soiled.
The Western Yoke: Dancing to the Tune of the Donor Dollar
Now enter Donald J. Trump—or rather, the spectre of his second coming. A political return of “America First” means “Malawi Whenever,” if at all. Donor funding, already fatigued by pandemic spending and global conflicts, may dry further under a Washington that sees foreign aid as a luxury rather than leverage.
Let’s not kid ourselves: Malawi’s fiscal viability still depends on foreign goodwill. Grants alone account for K1.14 trillion in the current budget. And while we’re romanticising “self-reliance” in speeches, we’re also budgeting for elections, maize purchases, and cancer centres with donor-backed cheques.
We are not partners. We are clients—of the IMF, of USAID, of anyone who promises just enough dollars to keep the lights on and the shelves stocked.
How We Proceed: From Austerity to Audacity
So where do we go from here?
Admit the dependency. Let’s stop pretending we’re on the verge of middle-income status. We are a poor nation with brilliant minds trapped in a structurally unfair global system.
Export with intent. We cannot talk about “Mega Farms” when we’re importing onions. Nor should we whisper about “mining reforms” while gold is smuggled through border towns in backpacks.
Restructure politics, not just debt. The real problem is not the budget. It’s the politics that writes it. Until we tame the beast of political entitlement, fiscal reform will remain an academic exercise.
Conclusion: A Prayer and a Provocation
So here we are: building airports with borrowed money, reforming systems under IMF watch, and making budget speeches that read like sermons to the converted. And still, we hope.
Hope that we can produce more than we consume. Hope that one day, our presidents will stop inheriting broken economies and start building stable ones. Hope that we stop being the world’s perpetual beggar with a begging bowl as big as our national budget.
Until then, the song remains the same: “We remain committed to inclusive growth”—and to paying interest on yesterday’s mistakes.
