Event promoters and artist managers have rued the strain the situation has caused on their planning.
Artist and events manager Wisdom Phanga said many people view entertainment as a luxury and those who have access to fuel would rather reserve it for something they consider important instead of travelling to attend events.
“Those that rely on taxis and motorcycles find it expensive to patronise events as the rates are higher than normal. We are just planning, hoping that things may get better, otherwise we cannot just sit,” said Phanga.
On his part, Kabula Diaries creative director Prince Chikweba said the only reprieve is that amid all this, people still find ways to socialise and shake off the stress arising from the same.
He said: “We cannot ignore that we operate within the same ecosystem which is dependent on the general economic situations in the country. As things are, it directly affects the flow of events. We cannot take away the fact.”
Impakt Events Management lead coordinator Yamikani Chinguwo said the fuel scarcity brings a high operational risk to their planned events.
He said although they are working on contingency arrangements to help ferry people to the Sand Music Festival in Mangochi by buses, they still expect the situation to have a negative effect on the event.
‘We expect some impact on attendance due to higher transport costs. This could reduce walk up ticket sales and overall numbers. Lower patronage will definitely affect our revenue which in turn puts pressure on production quality and the number of local vendors we can support,” said Chinguwo.
This weekend, several events have been lined up, including the Afro Fest on Saturday in Lilongwe, The Doc Live concert at Scalla’s Café in Blantyre on Saturday and the We Are Outside Ma Blacks Edition at Club 24/7.
Fun-seekers will contend with the question whether to make sacrifices and attend the gigs or stay home as they wait for an improvement on the fuel situation.
