Centre turns to parley on rising food costs
The Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) has urged members of Parliament to discuss and pass the Right to Food Bill to help manage the cost of living in the country.
In a recent analysis on the cost of living titled ‘Endless Struggle of Low Income Earners in Malawi’, the centre said managing the cost of living in Malawi cannot be achieved without food security.
Reads the analysis in part: “When the Right to Food Bill will be enacted into law, every person will have the right to adequate food and nutrition, which includes the right to freedom from hunger and food security.
“This food includes maize, which is considered to be the main staple food in Malawi, and also contributes highly to the cost of living.”
The proposed law states that food must be available, adequate and of good quality; and that the quality of the food must be in line with the specific needs of specific categories of persons.
According to the Bill, the State shall take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realisation of the right to adequate food, including freedom from hunger and adequate nutrition, by all appropriate means.
The proposed law also explicitly obliges the Malawi Government to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to food.
Meanwhile, CfSC data indicate that the cost of living for an average family of six living in the cities and peri-urban areas rose by 14 percent from K356 108 in January to K405 669 in March 2023.
Said CfSC in the analysis: “Although the government last year [2022] increased the minimum wage to K50 000 per month, this speaks nothing for the wage earners as it is not enough to cater for the monthly basic food items as per centre’s basket. “Prices of commodities [both food and non-food items] are increasing on a daily basis; hence, making it difficult for consumers to make some savings.”
This, the centre said, may generate tension among people, especially the middle and low-income earners, with no possibility of them making investments.
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito is on record as saying consumers have been left with little breathing space as cost of living has gone up.
“The current situation is hard economically and socially. We do not know where this is leading to, but one can predict tough times ahead.
“Many Malawians are experiencing challenges to access the very basic needs that a year ago were affordable. The rising inflation has also affected the lack of access to disposable incomes
Meanwhile, year-on-year headline inflation rate has also been on the rise, moving from 12.1 percent in January 2022 to 28.8 percent in May 2023, according to National Statistical Office (NSO) data.
