Luthando Holdings Boss Explodes Over EIS Debate, Accuses Powerful Forex Cartel of “Bleeding Malawians Dry”

Managing Director of Luthando Holdings Limited,Hendrix Laher, has launched a fierce and emotional attack on what he describes as a powerful forex cartel involving some businesspeople and banks, accusing them of worsening Malawi’s economic suffering while misleading the public over the Electronic Invoicing System (EIS). In a strongly worded public statement, Laher defended the Malawi Revenue Authority’s EIS tax system, saying his company complied with the system long ago and has never closed its shops in protest, unlike some traders who recently suspended business operations over concerns surrounding the system. “We have not closed our shops both in Lilongwe and Limbe even a single day,” said Laher.

“We complied with the EIS settings a long time ago before others started protesting.” Laher admitted that Malawi’s severe forex shortage and banks’ failure to process international payments for traders have created genuine difficulties for businesses trying to reconcile transactions under the EIS system. However, he argued that the bigger problem is not the tax system itself, but what he called “treasonous” manipulation of foreign exchange markets by a small group of powerful traders. In simple terms, Laher claims that some businesses are allegedly accessing United States dollars from banks at the official exchange rate — currently much lower than black market rates — using inflated or fake invoices for imports.

According to him, the forex is then allegedly diverted and sold on the parallel market at huge profits. He accused a few wealthy Indian-owned businesses of becoming major players in what he described as forex “externalisation,” saying the practice is crippling the economy and driving up the cost of goods for ordinary Malawians. “The richest companies are making billions just from the phone,” Laher claimed.

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To illustrate the impact, Laher gave examples of what he believes should be the “real” prices of common imported products if forex distortions did not exist. According to him, a box of tiles that currently sells for around K55,000 should actually cost about K25,000. He claimed that car tyres being sold at K250,000 should instead cost between K80,000 and K90,000, while batteries costing K300,000 should be selling closer to K145,000.

He argued that because traders are forced to buy forex on the black market at inflated rates, the extra costs are passed directly onto consumers. “The list goes on and on,” he said, referring to iron sheets, phones, ceiling boards and other imported goods whose prices have more than doubled. Laher also questioned why what he called “honest Indian traders” have remained silent instead of confronting fellow businesspeople allegedly benefiting from the forex crisis.

“I was of the view that they would speak to their greedy brothers and say enough is enough,” he wrote. “You are already rich. Let poor Malawians breathe.” He further argued that if forex manipulation stopped, banks would begin processing import payments fairly for all businesses, making the EIS system easier to implement and restoring honest trade practices.

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