Afrobarometer releases a damming report on Malawi: Shows 9 out of 10 people say Malawi heading in wrong direction
Few days after World Bank report showed that most Malawians are depressed, Afrobarometer Round 9 survey has revealed overwhelming popular dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the economy, with nearly nine out of 10 Malawians (89%) say the country is heading “in the wrong direction.”
It further damns that most Malawians express pessimism about the country’s direction, and few are optimistic that things will get better anytime soon.
The survey was done by the Afro barometer team in Malawi, led by the Centre for Social Research, and it interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adult Malawians in April 2022, a sample which its size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Dispatched on March 8, the survey further reveal that large majorities offer negative assessments of economic conditions: 85% describe the country’s economic situation as “fairly bad” or “very bad,” and 74% say the same about their personal living conditions.
“Looking ahead, Malawians are pessimistic about the country’s economy: Only 16% think things will get better in 12 months’ time, while 63% expect them to get worse. More than eight in 10 citizens say the government is performing “fairly badly” or “very badly” on management of the economy (85%) and other key economic tasks,” shows the survey.
What tops the list among people interviewed is the management of the economy and most Malawians want their government to address it.
“Almost two-thirds (63%) of citizens say they went without a cash income “many times” or “always” during the previous year, and 35% frequently went without enough food.
“Almost four in 10 Malawians (37%) experienced high levels of lived poverty during the past year, while another 38% experienced moderate lived poverty,” reads the survey.
The survey warns that as majorities of citizens continue to experience shortages of basic life necessities, economic concerns will take center stage as their top priority for government action.
There hasn’t been any immediate reaction from government.
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