Malawi hit by cement, iron sheets shortage
A severe shortage of cement and iron sheets has hit Malawi and forced a halt to construction in most of the country due to the ongoing forex crunch.
People building houses could not get cement and iron sheets in Lilongwe and Blantyre the whole of last week. Their fears, as well the price of cement and iron sheets, will soon increase due to the devaluation of Malawi Kwacha which will cause higher prices for these items.
According to some contractors who buy building materials from retail shops, it is hard for them to find cement and iron sheets for their construction needs.
Apart from hardware shops and wholesale outlets, these materials are also scarce in the markets.
“We are in a crisis,” Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Perks Ligoya told private radio, Capital FM, last week.
The problems bedeviling Malawi have occurred because the country is running out of foreign currency, a situation partly caused by the Bingu wa Mutharika government’s decision to lend Zimbabwe 100 million US dollars — money yet to be repaid by Zimbabwe.
The Mutharika government has also drained foreign exchange by buying a presidential jet for 15.9 million dollars and a fleet of 22 Mercedes Benz cars for the cabinet for a further three million Pounds.
The Malawi Kwacha has recently weakened by 1.6 percent, rated at 142.9 against the dollar from the 140.6 since more than two years ago. The change officially came into effect on October. 28.
On the black market, the currency is trading at 190MK to one USD.
Economic commentators have also blamed President Mutharika of “deposing” the “economic engineer” Goodall Gondwe , from the Finance Ministry to Local Government replacing him with Ken Kandodo (pictured), a man renown for depositing corporate money with witchdoctors for the purpose of having the money “multiplied.”
“Gondwe had the great advantage of experience. This is typical of the kind of problem one experiences when one leaves an experience wife to trust an inexperienced girlfriend converted to a wife,” said Kajani ‘Quota System’ Munthali, an economics commentator.
Mutharika also forced central bank governor, Victor Mbewe, to resign and replaced him with his tribesman, Ligoya, bypassing more senior and seasoned economists at the RBM.
In addition, Mutharika has recently appointed the chairman of his Mulakho wa Alhomwe tribal heritage group, Joseph Mwanamvekha, as Secretary to the Treasury to replace Radson Madiwa.
Am not surprised that the cement is scarce this time. Anybody who has been following the development of malawi or has been on construction business or properrty developer will not be surprised. Portland cement has been like this for the past years. You will find more cement in starting from January. This has been even the time Portland cement has been raising prices taking advantage of demand, ask Happy Kondowe. We have Shayona cement in kasungu but still its production capacity is not enough. The only product portland buys its gypsum apart from machinery which they still keep old ones and don’t like to replace them. The business of cement has gone in the wrong hands as portland can not sale it but we have people like Happy who is selling. Competitors are not bringing more because portland tried to block them. Its bad that iron sheets are not available due to forex and the govt need to work it out as the forex has gone missing. The money Zimbabwe owns us is not enough to qualify the missing of forex in malawi.