News

Contrary to some expectations, the presidential election on September 16th has produced a clear winner, meaning that a run-off vote is no longer necessary. 85-year-old Prof. Peter Arthur Mutharika (DPP) was elected as the new president with 56.8% of the vote. He had already been president from 2014-2020. The voter turnout was 76.4%. The previous incumbent Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (MCP) only achieved 33.0%.

Of the other 15 candidates, only Dr Dalitso Kabambe (UTM) with 4.0%, Atupele Austin Muluzi (UDF) with 1.9% and former President Dr Joyce Hilda Banda (PP) with 1.6% received more than one percent of all votes.

When it was already clear during the vote count that he had lost the election, President Chakwera released this statement

Our new Newsletter 41 (Summer 2025) has been published and is available for download as a PDF. Older newsletters can be found in the usual place.

As from now on our newsletters are available in English as well. Current Newsletter 41 (Summer 2025) you find here.

UNESCO has now inscribed the cultural landscape of the mighty Mulanje Massif in southern Malawi on the World Heritage List. The press release states:
“In southern Malawi, the mighty Mulanje Massif rises out of the landscape – the heart of a living cultural landscape. For generations, the Yao, Mang’anja and Lhomwe have shaped this place with their spiritual practices, rites and traditions, which they regard as the seat of gods, spirits and ancestors. Hills, caves, waterfalls and rapids are associated with them and worshipped. This has created a culturally shaped space where nature and faith are closely intertwined and where traditional rules for dealing with the sacred sites help to preserve the natural environment of the mountain massif.”

Recently the new FOREX rules have been published in The Malawi Gazette under Government Notice No. 27. They are already dated 4.4. but it always takes a while ..
The provisions relevant to the NGOS are contained in sections 8 and 9. In our opinion, the NGO concerns are thus taken into account: there is only a 50% mandatory exchange at ReserveBank. But only when it is needed (at any time). The immediate mandatory exchange of 70% within two working days of receipt of the money is therefore off the table.

Forex could also be used to pay for deliveries from abroad (Section 8 (3)) without the compulsory exchange of 50% (Section 8 (4)).
According to § 9, the local partners NGOS must now also submit an annual report to the central bank on the funds, due by January 31 of the following year.
However, this was already included in the old regulation of 12.12.2024.

The German Embassy and Ambassador Ute König herself have done a lot for us here. THANK YOU for that!

Our new Newsletter 40 (Spring 2025) has been published and is available for download as a PDF. Older newsletters can be found in the usual place.