Creator
Collins Mtika
Collins Mtika is a veteran journalist and the Mail & Guardian’s special correspondent in Mzuzu, Malawi. He is also the director of Centre for Investigative Journalism Malawi
Malawi's prisons primed for the market
Malawi's government plans to commercialise prison workshops, aiming to transform inmates into vocational producers and support reintegration. This initiative comes amidst severe…
Malawi received millions for electricity but most live without
Malawi has become one of the biggest recipients of international renewable energy finance among the world's least-developed countries. But for most of its people, the lights have…
Malawi bets again on digital taxes after first system faltered
Malawi is implementing a new digital tax system, the Electronic Invoicing System, for the second time in a decade, aiming for improved compliance and higher revenue. While…
Malawi’s gold reserve strategy reversed amid forex difficulties
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) sold approximately 590kg of artisanal gold in 2026 to secure funds for fuel imports, despite previous commitments to retain it as a strategic…
Malawi crash probe questions missing reports
Malawi's ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the 2024 military plane crash that killed former vice-president Saulos Chilima has exposed a significant flaw in earlier probes: none…
Billions promised, millions expected: Malawi's mining boom fiscal gap
As foreign companies advance projects worth tens of billions of dollars in critical minerals, Malawi's fiscal watchdog projects the government will collect roughly $19 million…
Ranked third in Africa, yet justice fails many
Malawi ranks third in Africa for public confidence in its courts, according to the Afrobarometer Round 10 survey. However, this high trust masks a severe structural crisis where…
China’s $50m agricultural bet in Malawi holds hope and risk
A massive industrial farming project promises investment and fertiliser production in a country gripped by hunger, debt and political uncertainty
Malawi’s industrial dream built backwards
Malawi’s industrial strategy has achieved only 40% of its targets, while core industrial capacity continues to weaken
Malawi first lady’s charity faces transparency questions after multimillion-rand donations
Contributions from controversial regional figures revive scrutiny over governance and political influence
Defunct Malawian Bank seeks $552m compensation
A bank that ceased operations more than two decades ago is seeking compensation from Malawi that could approach a 10th of the country’s annual budget, following a court ruling…
Solar powers Malawi’s mobile money boom but leaves the poorest behind
New research links rural solar adoption to mobile money use, while raising concerns about inequality
Fiscal crisis tests Malawi’s reform agenda
The country’s debt-heavy budget leaves Peter Mutharika, beginning his second term after winning the September 2025 election, reliant on World Bank-backed reforms to restore…
Malawi’s solar push bypasses its poorest
A peer-reviewed study finds wealth inequality is locking the poorest households out of solar electrification
Malawi’s century-old witchcraft law leaves door open to mob killings
Seven deaths in southern Malawi expose legal gaps, weak prosecutions and a colonial law that authorities say is no longer fit to manage modern waves of panic-driven violence