The United Democratic Front (UDF) President, Atupele Austin Muluzi, has promised to trim the number of vehicles on a presidential convoy to not more than 7 once voted into power after the September 16th, 2025 polls.
Muluzi pledged during a press briefing in Lilongwe, where he unveiled his Business First Plan (BFP), a strategy he says will bail Malawi out from what he described as a ‘deep crisis’.
The BFP strategy largely consists of measures aimed at establishing a robust shift from donor dependency to a future based on investment, trade, and private sector-led growth.
Muluzi hinted that poor policy choices and corruption are the main problems destabilizing the economy, with an emotional appeal that Malawians have the power to change the status quo.
Atupele Muluzi said: “To stabilize the economy, you cannot do it in isolation, you also have to deal with issues of leadership and that leadership is leading by example”
“So, recognizing that you have a crisis, it means now cutting down expenditure, it means that you cut down on certain measures to signal that the reform and the leadership understands that Malawi cannot afford those things right now”.
“We are mentioning cutting down the presidential convoys; I think, realistically speaking, the presidential convoys should not have more than 7 vehicles”.
Additionally, Muluzi has also promised that there shall be no new government cars for at least 2 years or until the economy stabilizes.
In the Business First Plan, the UDF leader outlines some plans he believes will revitalize the economy by opening Malawi for business, trade, and tourism.
Meanwhile, Muluzi has distanced the business’s first plan from the UDF manifesto, saying the party’s manifesto will be launched in June this year.
By Eric Chiputula
