Malawian president addresses nation on hunger, fuel shortages, violence

LILONGWE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) — Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera addressed the nation Wednesday evening on the pressing challenges facing the country, including persistent fuel shortages, widespread hunger, and recent political violence in Lilongwe and Blantyre.
In his televised address, Chakwera thanked organizations and development partners, such as China, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank, for the support they rendered to Malawi, following his appeal for humanitarian aid in March.
According to the president, 4.5 million out of the targeted 5.7 million people have been provided with food or cash assistance, but there are still 1.2 million people in need of food.
“Of the 347 billion Malawian kwacha (about 200.1 million U.S. dollars) target needed to secure enough food for the 5.7 million people in need of assistance, we are still short by 89 billion kwacha (about 51.3 million U.S. dollars),” Chakwera said. “We continue to lobby for additional support to ensure that the emergency operation reaches everyone who needs help, and is sustained all the way to the end of March.”
On the disruption of fuel supply for six weeks, the Malawian leader explained that due to insufficient foreign exchange reserves, the National Oil Company of Malawi had accumulated a debt of up to 70 million dollars to suppliers, leading to the suspension of fuel imports.
On political violence, Chakwera cited the killing of a political party member in Blantyre, the country’s commercial hub, and the intimidation of demonstrators protesting electoral processes by machete-wielding unidentified men in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.
The president condemned the acts of violence and urged the Malawi Police Service to investigate every incident of political violence and bring the culprits to justice. ■