Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha has said the government will increasingly rely on domestic taxes to finance public spending amid declining donor support and trade liberalisation.
The minister said this yesterday during a visit to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) offices in Lilongwe where he challenged tax collectors to widen the tax base and improve collections without overburdening existing taxpayers.
He said that while he was satisfied with MRA’s overall revenue performance, he believed its Lilongwe Station could collect more given the concentration of economic activity, businesses and rental properties in the capital city.
“The station is doing very well, they are meeting their target, but we also know that this station has more potential, even to generate more revenue,” said Mwanamvekha.
He said the station’s performance when compared with the Southern Region, suggested there was room to improve revenue collection.
Mwanamvekha said strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation was becoming increasingly important as Malawi participates in regional and continental free trade arrangements, including the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which progressively reduce tariffs.
“As we sign these Free Trade Areas … there will be more reliance on domestic taxes rather than customs. So, we need to create capacity internally so that we are able to collect more,” he said.
Ironically, about three weeks ago, Mwanamvekha assured the nation that Malawi will continue receiving donor support despite recent aid cuts by some development partners.
Speaking in Lilongwe during the launch of Tiyende Limodzi Endowment Fund for the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe, the minister said fears that declining aid would derail the economy were misplaced.
The minister’s remarks yesterday underline growing pressure on MRA to mobilise sufficient domestic resources to finance the K11 trillion 2026/27 National Budget.
Reserve Bank of Malawi data show that government recorded a K349.9 billion fiscal surplus in June 2026, the first monthly surplus in more than a year.
MRA Commissioner General Felix Tambulasi said the authority is already over K20 billion ahead of its cumulative revenue target and expects to outperform its K6.07 trillion annual target.
“We are already ahead of the targets … We believe that we are on the right path, and therefore, come the end of the financial year, we [will] have exceeded the target,” he said.
Tambulasi said MRA plans to intensify audits to ensure taxpayers using the self-assessment system correctly declare their income and tax liabilities.
However, Mwanamvekha said increasing revenue should not mean imposing higher taxes on already compliant taxpayers.
Both Mwanamvekha and Tambulasi identified digitisation as central to improving compliance, increasing efficiency and reducing revenue leakage.
MRA faces a K6.2 trillion domestic revenue collection target for the 2026/27 financial year.
