“I say not to play my children, so we save money on Soapan”

Suzanna Kathhumba, Malawi’s home workers, spend every day 80,000 kwacha salary ($ 46; 34 £) per month to help her family.

While writing a wet fabric from the living room with water and starts cleaning the tables and chairs, it saves his last ploy to save money.

“I told my youngest children not to be too dirty,” soap to save, “43-year-old young people have BBC.

“But it’s hard to play children because they want to play.”

In the last few months Mrs. Kathumba is a divorced four motherhood who works in the capital, Lilongwwe has been struggling to survive his salary for the prices of goods in the market.

With few financial support of the former husband, it is the only winner for the home. Most of the money returns to their four children, living in Kasengu at home, about 130 km (80 miles) in the northwest of capital. The two youngest children are still in school and two older are unemployed.

In May, Malawi’s annual inflation rate was 27.7% – One of the highest in Africa – Decrease in April by 29.2%.

“It’s amazing that salaries are having the same, but the prices of the products continues to do every day,” Mrs. Kathhumba said.

“It ends before the money ends. We live very hard life.”

Last Ernst and Young Report He said that Malawi was a few countries in the world called “Hyperity economy”, along with Sierra Leone, Sudan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. This is a cumulative inflation in three years or more.

Accounting company said according to the World Economy Outlook database, Malawi had a three-year inflation of 116% of December 2024, with a three-year inflation of 2026 and 66% of the inflation of 2025, 2025 2025, 2025.

World Bank data It also shows that the country is one of the poorest in the world. It estimates that 70% of the southern African population lives in less than $ 2.15 a day.

The current lifestyle crisis has left many citizens, like Mrs Kathhumba, no savings.

“If I say I save money at the end of the month I would lie. I didn’t leave anything,” he said.

“I pay 50,000 kwacha ($ 29). Then exercise books, food, soap you need to buy soap. Sugar (1kg) is 4,500 kwacha ($ 3).”

Economists put Malawi’s inflation problems to some extent foreign money shortages – is known as “Forex” in banks.

Malawi has often been struggling with Forex because the country imports much more than exporting.

“We are not exporting high value products”, Dr. Bertha Bangara Chikadza, Macroeconomian, Malawi, President of the Malawi Economic Association said BBC.

“We export products like corn, soy beans and sugar, but import expensive products, such as fertilizer, medicine and furniture, so we need a large number of Forex for that,” he said.

Companies who want to import goods say when the banks apply to Forex – US dollars especially – they become frequent, because it is not available.

This forces the US dollars in the black market. The exchange rate is higher than the official rate of 1,750 kwacha.

Merchants can pay between 4,000 and 5,000 kwacha $ 1 – causes consumer blow.

Business owners, Mohammed Hanif Wakak is the owner of a paper shop in the capital, say that he has lost many customers because it puts prices.

“Sales have fallen significantly. We had to do it with BBC,” said BBC.

While he would normally import elements of his shop, like office supplies, pens and noosepads, not having foreign exchange means that the goods are trying to access locally.

“I can’t remember that our banks gave us forex,” he said.

Despair of change, informal merchants were taken to protest in February, blocking hundreds of Malawi parliament.

“We’re really affected, we’ll get our business benefit”, President Steve Magombo, Lilongwwwwwe’s President of Tsoka Flea Market, told BBC.

“But things are ways, we fail. Malawians fail to buy our goods.”

This year earlier announced that $ 175 million loan agreement was temporarily suspended. The four-year loan was approved in November 2023, with $ 35 million so far.

“According to IMF policy, the programs do not automatically expire, reviews expire automatically, and no reviews should be made,” Justin Tyson, Malawi’s FMI mission, said BBC.

Mr. Tyson has added that “fiscal disciplines” has been difficult to keep maintenance in the current environment due to elevated spending press. “

However, Malawi’s financial minister’s Simplex Chithyola band said that the government’s decision was interrupting the loan, if the disagreement of the terms happened.

“When you need to build reservations, but at the same time the country is dry, you choose no fuel (rather than building reserves),” Bands BBC World Business Report last month.

“They told us to be in the program, you need to adjust fuel prices, but this may have a negative impact on basic product prices.”

With national elections scheduled to September, the government says he is taking several steps to take prices.

Vitumbi Mumba Minister of Trade has recognized that Forex has rationalized, but registered businesses may require essentials through the Bank or Finance Ministry. But traders also accuse them of prices for swelling.

“We are forming an economic sabotage bill and the invoice of essential goods and services will also be regulated,” BBC said.

Meanwhile, the main opposition has put the blame in the inflation at the foot of those in power.

Whatever the cause of inflatable prices, life cost is likely to have a tremendous campaign problem.

Malawians hope everyday fights will lighten the government plans, and everyone wants the solution that brings sustainable stability to the economy.

“We are dependent on the government of support,” Mrs. Kathumba said.

“Politicians expect to remember less Malawian privileged to take their decisions.”

Jack McBrams an additional report made in Lilongwe.