By Pemphero Malimba, Cedric Magombo & Jarson Malowa:
Minibus owners in some parts of the country have raised minibus fares as the country grapples with the problem of fuel shortage.
Spot checks conducted in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Zomba cities Monday indicated that bus fares had been hiked.
In Lilongwe, for instance, the fare from Senti to Bwalo la Njobvu jumped from K1,500 to K2,000.
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The fare for the Kaphiri to Bwalo la Njobvu route jumped from K700 to K1,000, respectively.
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In Blantyre, the fare for the Mibawa to Limbe route rose from K500 to K700, with some minibus operators raising it further to K800.
The fare also jumped on the Limbe-Bvumbwe route, with some minibus operators charging K1,000 from K800.
In Zomba, some taxi operators raised the fare from between K500 and K600 from Zomba main stage to between K800 and K1,000, with some taxi operators saying fuel had become scarce.
“We are also spending a long time on queues,” said a taxi driver who identified himself as Yussef.
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Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) General Secretary Coxley Kamange admitted to adjusting the fares.
According to Kamange, the upward adjustments could be attributed to the scarcity of fuel.
“Most operators are finding it hard to get fuel; they have to cover long distances to get the commodity. As such, to recover the cost, then have to adjust bus fares upwards,” he said.
Kamange was, however, quick to say the hike was temporary.
“But I can assure you that once the fuel becomes readily available in all filling stations in the country, we will drop the fares again,” he said.
Kamange added that there was a need for the government to resolve the fuel scarcity challenges.
On his part, Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) Executive Director John Kapito said the adjustments were not surprising, considering their recent call for fuel price hikes.
“It is not surprising to see minibus owners, and other businesses as well, raising their prices because fuel is the driver of the economy and this could have been avoided if the authorities had raised the prices of fuel,” Kapito said.
