By JONATHAN PASUNGWI

Copyright mwnation

President-Elect Peter Mutharika has outlined five most pressing economic and social challenges he intends to address soon after being sworn-in as Malawi’s Seventh Republican President.

The five critical areas are hunger, fertiliser scarcity, fuel and foreign exchange shortages as s well as lack of medicines in the country’s public hospitals.

Speaking during a press briefing at his Nyambadwe private residence in Blantyre yesterday, Mutharika, who was accompanied by Alliance for Democracy (Aford) president Enoch Chihana, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secretary general Peter Mukhito and other senior party members, said his administration will hit the ground running, noting that Malawians have endured enormous hardships over the past five years. Other notable DPP gurus present at the briefing were vice-presidents for South and Eastern regions, Joseph Mwanamvekha and Bright Msaka respectively.

Mutharika, who addressed Chihana as Second Vice-President- Elect, noted that the outlined priority areas require urgent solutions, saying they are critical for the country’s social and economic development.

recover. Food must be available for everyone. Jobs must be created. Our health care and education system must be strengthened, infrastructure must be improved and, above all, we must rebuild trust in public institutions.”

He said the DPP administration will reflect the party’s commitment to prudence, inclusion, competence and delivery, adding that time for full operation has begun.

“Politics has played its part, now the work of national transformation must take centre-stage. Today, I call upon every Malawian, regardless of the region [they come from], political party [they belong to] or background, to join hands as we seek a new path forward.

“This is a moment to put aside what divides us and embrace what unites us. We are one nation, one people and one destiny,” said the President-Elect.

Mutharika commended the outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) for conceding defeat. He said Chakwera deserves highest respect, noting that by conceding, he demonstrated statesmanship.

The President-Elect also hailed MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja and her team for upholding professionalism and integrity in the running of the September 16 General Election.

In an interview on the sidelines of the press briefing, DPP Manifesto Committee chairperson Collins Magalasi expressed optimism that the incoming administration will address the outlined five priority areas, including fuel shortage.

He said DPP studied the MCP and Tonse Alliance administration and established what led to the scarcity of fuel in the country.

“There are many people that will be consulted, including me on fuel or electricity and we will do it. So, I will share my personal experience in the fuel industry with the government,” said Magalasi, who once served as Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority chief executive officer during the previous DPP administration.

Weighing in on the press briefing in an interview, governance commentator George Chaima observed that Mutharika’s five priority areas are pertinent and aligned with the needs of most Malawians. He said Malawians need stable fuel supply, maize, forex, fertiliser and adequate medicines in public hospitals.

Said Chaima: “If you look at a developed nation, it must always be a healthy nation. But if you go to our public hospitals, health centres and clinics, you will find that there are just buildings over there while nurses or clinicians have no medication. Mutharika’s key priority areas are, indeed, aligned with the people’s needs.”

On his part, governance scholar at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences Andrew Kaponya observed that Mutharika’s five priority areas are a reminder that Malawians have for the past five years suffered protracted shortages of forex that have affected general prices of goods and services, fuel supply and fueled rampant corruption.

“The President-Elect knows what is at stake for Malawians and these must be addressed as a priority if he is to win the hearts of Malawians sustainably,” he said.

MEC on Wednesday declared Mutharika winner of the September 16 2025 presidential race after amassing 3 035 249 votes against 1 765 170 for Chakwera, to secure 56.8 percent of the vote and cross the 50-percent-plus-one threshold required for an outright win.