By Edwin Mauluka

Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman has directed Leader of Opposition Simplex Chithyola Banda to provide evidence supporting his claim that the government agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not to recruit young people as part of loan conditions.

The directive came on Wednesday after Chithyola, the former finance minister, alleged in Parliament that Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha had signed an IMF agreement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) that restricts youth employment, salary increases, and civil servant promotions.

“Malawians would like to know the status of the IMF ECF negotiations, the agreed prior actions and structural benchmarks,” said Chithyola. “Why has the DPP accepted not to recruit youths, not to promote civil servants, and to devalue the Malawi kwacha amid rising unemployment?”

Mwanamvekha immediately rose on a point of order, dismissing the allegation and demanding proof.

“I want to put it on record that this government led by President Peter Mutharika will never do anything that harms Malawians,” the finance minister said. “We understand the challenges people are facing, and the president remains committed to his promises.”

Speaker Suleman upheld Mwanamvekha’s point of order and instructed Chithyola to furnish the House with evidence by Thursday, November 6, 2025.

During his official response to the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Chithyola also questioned the government’s handling of inflation, hunger, and economic recovery plans. He accused the DPP administration of preaching austerity while expanding subsidies such as free secondary education, which he described as “partial.”

“The free education policy covers only tuition and development fees [which is] less than 20% of total costs,” he said. “True equity means making secondary education fully free for all deserving Malawian children.”

Chithyola further criticized the government’s decision to abolish the Government-to-Government (G2G) fuel procurement system in favor of the Open Tender System (OTS), claiming the change would drastically raise costs and encourage corruption.

He urged the government to prioritize sustainable energy investments, such as electric vehicles and gas infrastructure, and strengthen cash transfer programs and anti-corruption enforcement in the mining sector.