Malawi poorest to hit 9.5m in 2020: Oxfam calls for more subsidies to protect the poor
Malawi’s poorest are expected to reach 9:5 million in 2020 from the current 1:5 million and international charity, Oxfam is asking the government to increase subsdies to protect the poor and vulnerable.
In a report, Oxfam says inequality between the halves and the halve nots is alarmingly increasing and there was need for immediate preventive measures to avert the situation.
One of the measures, Oxfam suggest, are the unpopular and infamous subsidy programms which donors and economists are urging the government to stop saying they are just a drain on the already constrained public resources.
Oxfam regional manager Nellie Nyang’wa said her organisation hoped the government and other stakeholders would start working on the report to reduce the number of poor Malawians.
Finance minister Goodall Gondwe conceded the number of poor people is going up and attributed this to high inflation and currency instability among other factors that has pushed the cost of living for ordinary Malawians up.
Meanwhile, the Local Development Fund (LDF) has launched a cash transfer programme for the poorest in Dedza and Nkhata Bay.
LDF executive director Charles Mandala said 21000 are on the programme and they will receive a monthly allowance of K20000 to K30000 per family depending on the number of poor beneficiaries in the family.
He said the districts and families were selected depending on their respective poverty profiles.
Mandala said there are 16 other districts on social transfer and are funded by Unicef and European Union. The LDF social transfer is funded by the World Bank.
I am seriously concerned.
Is it that they have no clue? Is it that they only think about them selves? Is it that we are all thieves? Is it that we are all lazy? Do we all have no clue? Are we all jealous and in the process bring each other down? Should we be doing something very extreme to those that plunder our country?
Help me out, I am now confused. Do we even care?
wogwira nthito k18,000.00.Wosagwira nthito k 30,000.00. koma ziliko ku Malawi .N di utsogoleri wa aprofesa APM.
Analyst, take this message to Southern Region. The whole north is less than 2million. Mind you, Mzimba alone is the size of Swaziland.
How can the exchange rate move from 440 to 640 in a space of 4 months do we have a government or are we are on auto-pilot and economy has collapsed, if indeed there is a government show some protection for poor Malawians or gracellyfully resign as enough is enough we cannot take anymore misery, we farmers are given low rates when selling ourproduce at 420 in june now farm inputs i have to buy at 640, fotseki
Mabvuto chifukwa Goodall ndi Chuka , zinthu akukwera everyday, wakhalamba chaka 80 nzeuru wa mzima, Mulungu muthandize ife wa sauka
I think we should just sublease this country to the Chinese for a period of 20 years. Let it be run as an overseas province and may be things may change for the rural folks otherwise our current system of electing governments based on tribal affiliation will not take this country anywhere.
Koma abale dziko lino: osauka akungopitilizabe kuswana. Kulera alibe nako ntchito. Chigololo basi. Ana 6, 8 basi. Shaaa
“halves and the halve not” What is that? Poor attention to detail.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… . . . What saddens me most and other patriotic Malawians, is that our poverty is man-made. Tikuswana udyo anthufe iiiiiiiii aiiiiiii zanyanya! Just how do we expect the fig for the poorest not to reach 9.5 m when we are this many? . . . Is the verse (Genesis 9:7) about going out and multiplying only given to us Malawians? If we took the verse in trying to be religious, why do we fail to internalise other equally important verses like “Thou shall not commit adultery” or “Thou shall not stael”? . . . And we shamelessly keep… Read more »