Austerity in Words, Luxury in Practice: Ministers Under Fire for Costly Domestic Travel Spree

Governance watchdogs have launched a blistering attack on the government over what they describe as excessive and unnecessary domestic travel by Cabinet ministers, accusing the leadership of hypocrisy and reckless spending at a time when Malawi’s economy is in deep distress. Over the past week alone, nearly the entire Cabinet has reportedly been engaged in back-to-back trips across the country, despite President Peter Mutharika’s recent directive on austerity measures aimed at cutting public expenditure. Ministries whose leaders have been frequently on the move include Gender, Local Government, Agriculture, Energy, Natural Resources, Transport, Defence, Health, Homeland Security and Education—raising serious questions about whether government is prioritising service delivery or political visibility.

According to information gathered by Nyasatimes, the trips largely involve familiarisation tours, routine inspections, stakeholder meetings and ceremonial events. However, critics argue that many of these activities could be conducted virtually or delegated to senior technical staff, rather than consuming public resources on travel, fuel, accommodation and allowances. Governance advocate Michael Kayiyatsa said the pattern of travel exposes a disturbing disconnect between government policy and government behaviour.

“This is not just poor judgment, it is institutional hypocrisy,” said Kayiyatsa. “You cannot tell Malawians to tighten their belts while ministers are living on the road, drawing allowances and burning fuel as if the economy is booming.” Kayiyatsa warned that the cost of ministerial travel—vehicle fleets, security convoys, accommodation, per diems and logistics—runs into millions of kwacha per trip, even when officials remain within national borders. “At a time when hospitals lack drugs, schools have no learning materials, and farmers cannot access affordable inputs, this kind of spending is not just irresponsible, it is morally offensive,” he said.

[paywall]

He further accused ministers of using public travel as a platform for early political mobilisation ahead of future elections, arguing that “familiarisation tours” have become a convenient excuse for visibility campaigns funded by taxpayers. “The reality is that most of these trips are not about service delivery. They are about political branding, positioning and maintaining relevance,” he said.

The development has reignited debate on the credibility of government’s austerity programme, which was announced as part of efforts to manage rising debt, runaway inflation and a widening fiscal deficit. Economists have repeatedly warned that Malawi’s public finances are unsustainable, with government struggling to meet basic obligations such as salaries, fuel imports, medical supplies and debt repayments. Yet, governance groups say the continued travel culture within Cabinet signals that austerity is being imposed on ordinary citizens, not on political elites. So far, government has remained silent on the matter, with no official explanation on the scale, cost or necessity of the trips—fueling public anger and reinforcing perceptions that austerity exists only in speeches, not in practice.

[/paywall]