If austerity is necessary, let MPs feel it too

Parliament has finally passed a package of tax reforms that will squeeze households, shrink disposable incomes and tighten the operating space for businesses already bruised by inflation and foreign exchange shortages. Surprisingly, the bill passed with unanimous support from both sides of the aisle. Some members called it “progressive”.

While Malawians brace themselves for higher taxes on everything from mobile money transfers to corporate profits, one group has quietly emerged from the process unscathed: the members of Parliament and Ministers who imposed the measures. Let us say it plainly. Malawi’s lawmakers—some of whom double as Cabinet ministers— do not pay tax on most of their significant allowances.

Not their fuel allocations, not their motor vehicle maintenance allowances, not their sitting allowances, whether for committee meetings or House sessions. All remain untouched by the very austerity they insist is necessary for the survival of the State. It i s an ar rangement so gen ero u s—an d so disconnected from Malawi’s present economic reality—that it would almost be comical, were it not so damaging.

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During the tax debate, Ma lawi Congress Par ty spokesperson on the Bill, Peter Dimba called the bill progressive. It follows earlier defences from the government benches. According to them, refusing these taxes would leave Malawi with limited fiscal space to implement the budget.

A bold assertion. A principled one. And one that would have carried even greater moral force had it applied equally to lawmakers rather than just the people they represent.

When asked whether the MP would consider paying VAT on the vehicle imports, the story changed. It is not right for them to pay because the government is supposed to buy those vehicles for them. If the government can buy, then it is only fair to them to retain the exemption.

If rejecting tax hikes is equivalent to rejecting the budget, then surely refusing to trim parliamentary perks must also fall into the same category. After all, the budget finances their fuel, their allowances, their sitting fees, their accommodation, their travel, and the long list of benefits most taxpayers will never experience. Why should austerity be a one-way street—flowing only toward the citizen and never toward the political class?

This is not an ideological argument. It is not even a partisan one. It is a question of fairness and shared responsibility.

For years, Malawi has struggled with a widening deficit, unsustainable domestic borrowing, and an external debt load that now exceeds K21.6 trillion, according to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation. But when those decisions fall exclusively on ordinary citizens—while MPs continue to claim tax-free allowances at levels far above the median Malawian income—then the austerity measures mean absolutely nothing.

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