A year of stability, little transformation: the audit that puts Mutharika at 62.2%

A year after his return to State House on a promise of “proven leadership”, President Arthur Peter Mutharika has been given a mark that is neither failure nor triumph: 62.2%, or “Satisfactory”.

The score comes from an independent audit by Nation Publications Limited, published to mark the first anniversary of his 4 October 2025 inauguration.

A panel of economists, lawyers and policy researchers scored the government against the DPP’s own manifesto, with the economy and governance each weighted at 37.5% and social services at 25%.

The pattern behind the headline number matters more than the number itself. Social services scored highest, at 72.5%, lifted by health, where Maziko Matemba gave 85% for extra funding, drug-budget increases and a US grant.

Governance scored 63.3%, with the panel noting restraint by the executive and signs of judicial independence.

The economy scored lowest, at 54.3%, with the experts agreeing that the pain is easing but recovery is not yet felt at household level.

There are fault lines inside the verdict. The Anti-Corruption Bureau has been without a substantive director general for two and a half years, and political scientist Gift Sambo, who scored the government 55%, said corruption remains widespread.

The Office of the President told the paper that the government has made “significant progress” in laying the foundations for recovery.

Nation’s own conclusion was less generous: for the president, who ran on a record, the first year has shown he can stop the slide.

“The honeymoon is officially over; the real work must now begin,” it said.

The test for Mutharika is no longer whether he can stabilise the state. It is whether he can turn stability into something his voters can feel.