Malawi govt spends K104 mil  on President Mutharika’s new motorcade

At the time the country is grappling with various social and economic challenges, President Peter Mutharika’s administration has taken a bold but strange decision to purchase a luxurious and expensive car for the Head of State.

Government has purchased a state of art Luxus 570 Land cruiser at a cost of about K104 million at a time the authorities have hiked maize prices to K12,500 from K5,500.

However, Mutharika through his Press Secretary Mgeme Kalilani has dashed to defend the decision, arguing it was approved by Parliament and that the President’s motorcade was outdated.

Kalilani told  privately owned Zodiac Broadcasting Station (ZBS) that out of eight new vehicles that were expected to be purchased to replace Mutharika’s motorcade, only one vehicle- Lexus- has been bought.

He further argued that the Head of State needed new  fleet of vehicles to replace the current which he described as risky and endangers the President’s life.

The new vehicle was bought from K906 million budget of State House approved in parliament to buy eight vehicles for President Mutharika’s convoy.

The issue of the new vehicle, which was first seen in public on Thursday, has sparked heated debate on social media with many Malawians finding the decision and timing of the purchase of the vehicle as insensitive  considering the social and economic turmoils the country is currently experiencing.

Malawians are enduring effects of food shortage aside from the rising cost of living coupled by failure by authorities to effectively provide amenities such medical care, water and electricity.

The country is experiencing the worse power outages in decades with government failing to find lasting solutions to the never ending blackouts that have not only affected households but the business community as well.

Most public hospitals are running out of medical supplies such as drugs and the provision of water supply by water boards across the country has been erratic with Lilongwe being the most affected.