September 16 marks one year since Malawians went to the polls in the 2025 General Elections.
The election saw former President Lazarus Chakwera and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration voted out, with Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika returning to the presidency.
One year into Mutharika’s administration, MBC Digital took to the streets to gather views from members of the public, political and social analysts, and economic experts on the President’s leadership style and performance.
Political scientist Mavuto Bamusi says Mutharika’s first year in office has begun to shape what he describes as a presidency focused more on substance than spectacle.
Bamusi says the President “speaks less but listens more” and governs with patience while expecting results from those responsible for delivering on government priorities.
“His moral compass, shaped by decades of service and sacrifice, gives his leadership a rare blend of humility and authority,” says Bamusi.
Another Political commentator, Caesar Kondowe, notes that the performance indicators comparing the first year of Mutharika’s time in office show Malawi’s remarkable turnaround, compared to former President Lazarus Chakwera.
Kondowe says the performance of the two leaders has marked President Professor Mutharika’s first year in office as a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, economic stability, restored food and fuel security, improved health outcomes, expanded education access, and the return of discipline and order to State residences.
“We have to evaluate the two leaders on various indicators, including the economy, food security, health, energy, education, and governance, among others”, says Kondowe.
Economic gains
An economist, George Mphande, states that when President Mutharika inherited the economy from Chakwera in September last year, headline inflation was at a crippling 28.5%.
He says that within one year, inflation has dropped by 9.7 percentage points to 20.8%. This, according to Mphande, is in contrast to Chakwera’s first year, when inflation rose from 8% to 9.2%. He says Gross Domestic Product growth, which had collapsed to 0.9% after the Chakwera’s first year from 1.7%, is now up to 3.8% from 2.7%.
Meanwhile, Mzuzu-based economic analyst Chizaso Lungu says public debt has also recorded a different trajectory under the two administrations.
Lungu says public debt increased by K18.8 trillion under Chakwera, from K5.5 trillion to K22.4 trillion, while under Mutharika it has increased by K1.5 trillion to K23.9 trillion.
He adds that the debt-to-GDP ratio has declined from 93 percent to 91 percent.
Lungu also points to progress on Malawi’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying the programme was off-track under the MCP regime, while negotiations under the current administration have reached an advanced stage.
He says the government is looking for increased financial support from the IMF as it seeks to revive the economy.
“You can observe that our Kwacha has stabilised at K1,734 to the US dollar from K1,750, while under Chakwera it moved from K750 to K780 in the first year before later depreciating significantly,” Lungu Says. “The Mutharika administration has also recorded no external presidential trips in its first year, compared to 98 trips during Chakwera’s first year and 765 trips over his five-year tenure.”
Moving towards food security
For 36-year-old Joyce Alumando of Nsanje, Mutharika’s first year in office has been characterised by what she describes as “action with purpose.”
“Our staple food, maize, is now available on the market and prices are within our reach,” says Alumando. “Last year prices skyrocketed. I could barely fend for my family.”
Agricultural expert Leonard Chimwaza stresses that Mutharika’s government will also be judged on its ability to address food security.
Chimwaza has rated Mutharika’s government highly, noting that people have access to food as the cost of a 50kg bag of maize is within reach, trading between K45,000 and K50,000, as compared to Chakwera’s K85,000 to K120,000 at the same time last year.
Chimwaza says that despite the El Niño scare, the country will continue registering significant gains in food security once the government commissions the 2019-launched Shire Valley Transformation Project, which is expected to birth four new irrigation projects that will improve food security.
Energy
The Mutharika administration has also received positive assessments from commentators over its management of the energy sector, particularly fuel availability.
They contrast the current situation with the period under former President Chakwera, when fuel shortages resulted in motorists spending long hours and, in some cases, days in queues at filling stations.
Access to education
The education sector is another area highlighted in assessments of Mutharika’s first year in office.
Education commentator Benedicto Kondowe says the administration has delivered on its promise of free secondary education.
According to Kondowe, the removal of secondary school fees, which had been set at K59,000, has contributed to an increase in enrolment from 36.64 percent to 42.98 percent.
He compares this with what he describes as a 0.39 percent increase in enrolment during Chakwera’s administration.
The road ahead
But social commentator Christopher Dzikondianthu says one year is a relatively short period in the life of a presidency.
While acknowledging what he describes as a relatively good performance by the Mutharika administration, Dzikondianthu says the government has four years remaining of its five-year mandate to address the country’s challenges and deliver development.
Dzikondianthu says time is not on the government’s side, noting that every day, every hour, and every decision must count and be utilised prudently and decisively in pursuit of results-based effective service delivery to the electorates.
“The expectations from people placed on this government are high after the former President Chakwera’s poor service delivery. The responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the current leadership to ensure that every Malawian is cared for, and that each citizen is allowed to live a dignified and meaningful life,” Says Dzikondianthu.
The various commentators interviewed by MBC Digital have highlighted areas including the economy, food security, health, energy and education in assessing the administration’s first year.
Their assessments point to changes they associate with the first year of Mutharika’s return to office, while also highlighting the challenges and expectations facing the government during the remaining four years of its mandate.
