President Arthur Peter Mutharika’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) yesterday got mixed views, with some praising its substantive prose on policy direction while others said it lacked on detail.
On one hand, some opposition parties and civil society organisations said the 20-page speech is silent on pressing issues such as security and enforcement of austerity measures.
On the other hand, Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) president Bertha Bangara-Chikadza drew positives from the s t atement whi ch she said covered most issues stakeholders were expecting.
The address officially opened the 2026/27 Budget Meeting of Parliament, which is expected to sit for the budget session until April 10.
In an interview, Leader of Oppos it ion Simplex Chithyola Banda argued that the address should have provided a detailed homeland security plan, pointing to recent abductions and armed robberies.
“The Sona is very silent on rampant robberies that are happening, including abductions. The President would have issued a very strong
warning and condemnation,” he said.
The opposition leader also took issue with the President’s announcement on maize price reduction, warning that without corresponding action on farm input prices, the move could hurt productivity.
“You are supposed to sell five bags of maize at between K38,000 and K55 000 to purchase just one bag of fertiliser. So it was supposed to be: you reduce the price of maize and subsequently reduce the price of farm inputs so the two can go together. But if you do nothing on the farm inputs, the ones that will be affected are the producers. Therefore, it means you are postponing hunger,” he said.
He also faulted the President for not adequately addressing youth programmes.
“We wanted the President to pronounce himself on programmes that inspire young people and create jobs — not necessarily talking about soft loans, which are not long-term,” he said.
But Bangara-Chikadza said the Sona contained what stakeholders were looking for.
“We wanted to hear issues of recovery, and we’ve noted that even the theme itself was talking about recovery, but also being people-centred,” said Bangara-Chikadza.
She welcomed the President’s focus on food security, noting its critical role in controlling inflation.
“I think it’s encouraging that the President took food security as a prerequisite because, as you know, in this country, over 50 percent of inflation comes from food. And if people have access to affordable food, then inflation automatically goes down,”
cycle with a public debt estimated at K24.4 trillion—about 90 percent she said.
Bangara -Chikadza also commended the President’s directive on mining licences.
“We heard that the President has actually issued a directive to stop the issuance of more mining certificates. That’s a start so that at least we can take stock and look at whether we can renegotiate some of the contracts,” she said.
However, she cautioned that implementation would depend on budget allocations.
“We would still want to see what
is going to be in the budget, because sometimes we can hear good stories contained in the Sona, but money may not be allocated as required,” she said.
Human Rights Defender s Coalition chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa described the Sona as brief and lacking detail on implementation measures.
“It’s a very brief Sona, which is good. However, we expected more details outlining what concrete measures the government is going to take to address the challenges that many people are facing,” said Kaiyatsa.
“He talked about prices of maize going down. That is very important. But what about the cost of fertiliser that the ordinary farmer is facing?”
On corruption, Mutharika issued a strong warning, saying: “My government will arrest anyone involved in corrupt malpractices. When I say anyone, I mean anyone! It doesn’t matter whether you are a Cabinet minister, party official, Member of Parliament or government official. I will shield no one.”
But Kaiyatsa sought clarification on whether that included current Cabinet members facing charges.
“The President reiterated his stand that he is not going to shield anyone who has been implicated in corruption. That is a very powerful statement. But does that include even government officials who are serving in the current government?” he asked.
“We know that there are several ministers who have been implicated in corruption. They were arrested, but up to now, we don’t know where their cases are. We wanted an assurance that even those in his Cabinet will be prosecuted.”
Ka iyat sa also questioned enforcement of austerity measures following a leaked memo directing ministers to limit local travel to once a month.
On February 11, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Justin Saidi issued a directive restricting ministers and deputy ministers to one domestic trip per month, warning that unchecked local travel was placing a strain on public resources.
“We wanted to hear what will happen to officials who defy these measures,” Kaiyatsa said. “Now, if a minister defies this, what will happen? Will there be consequences? That’s what Malawians want to hear.”
Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador Naito Yasushi, attending his first Sona, said he was impressed by the President’s focus on stimulating growth.
“I was impressed by the contents of the speech by His Excellency the President, especially when he mentioned stimulating growth. It’s a very important area,” said Yasushi.
He added: “We handed over the Lilongwe Bridge just yesterday. We are working closely with the Malawian government on economic cooperation through the Nacala Corridor Initiative. So we are encouraged by the contents.
