Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has given Minister of Energy Jean Mathanga seven days to resign over persistent fuel shortages and electricity blackouts, threatening demonstrations in four cities on November 17 if she stays.
But governance expert Benedicto Kondowe said macroeconomic data point to a deeper structural crisis that extends far beyond one minister.
Mathanga. | Nation
In a statement issued on November 2, HRDC said Mathanga has failed to deliver on her own assurances that fuel supplies would stabilise and argued her continued stay in office undermines public confidence.
“HRDC believes that the minister has failed to demonstrate the leadership, competence and urgency required to address this crisis,” reads the statement signed by vice-chairperson Madalitso Banda and national coordinator Kelvin Chirwa.
The coalition cited long queues at service stations, business disruptions, rising transport costs and persistent blackouts.
But Kondowe said while HRDC is entitled to demand accountability, calls for resignation should be grounded in evidence of leadership failure.
He said: “The crisis involves longstanding structural, financial and operational problems that extend beyond one minister.
“However, difficulties in other ministries do not diminish the responsibility of the Energy Ministry. The decisive consideration is whether the minister has demonstrated effective leadership, sound decisions and measurable progress.”
The forex math behind the queues
At the core of the fuel crisis is not logistics alone, but a catastrophic balance-of-payments breakdown that has made procurement mathematically unsustainable.
Malawi needs an estimated $3.3 billion annually to finance critical imports—including fuel, medicines and fertiliser—but generates only about $1 billion from total exports.
The result is a structural shortage of foreign exchange that leaves commercial banks unable to back letters of credit required by global oil traders.
Malawi consumes about 2 million litres of fuel per day, translating to a mandatory monthly bill of $49 million and an annual bill of $588 million.
Against that, tobacco—the country’s primary forex earner—brought in $545 million in 2025, already less than the fuel bill.
In 2026, tobacco revenues collapsed to $282.7 million following poor output, covering less than six months of national fuel needs.
With gross reserves depleted, the State-owned National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) has been forced to tender for extended 180-day credit lines and alternative payment arrangements to avoid total gridlock.
As the height of the fuel crisis, Mathanga had announced on October 23 that 243 fuel trucks had been loaded, with 143 in transit, assuring improvement by October 27. The deadline passed with little sustained change.
“Enough is enough. Malawians deserve reliable fuel, electricity and accountable leadership,” HRDC said, adding it will march in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu.
When asked why it is singling out Mathanga when other sectors such as health and agriculture are also facing shortages, the coalition pointed to her own public deadlines.
President Peter Mutharika, who returned from a private trip to South Africa on Sunday, acknowledged the challenges, but said fuel was available at ports in Tanzania and Mozambique—Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Nacala and Beira—with transport into Malawi being the problem.
“The fuel is there… But it’s logistics, getting them to Malawi. That is a problem,” he said, urging patience.
The President’s logistics explanation and HRDC’s leadership concerns both capture part of the truth, but miss the larger arithmetic: without closing the $2.3 billion trade gap or reviving export earnings, changing ministers may change the spokesperson for the crisis, but not the crisis itself.
Government spokesperson Shadreck Namalomba and Mathanga did not respond to calls or WhatsApp messages yesterday.
