By Kondanani Chilimunthaka

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources has warned the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) against raising fuel prices for profits, saying should consider raising prices for cost recovery.

Presenting a report by the Natural Resources Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, Chairperson for the committee, who is the Member of Parliament for Chitipa South Constituency, Welani Chilenga said Fuel importers in the country are failing to remit levies to MERA because they are struggling to operate as they have been using the same levies as working capital to sustain their importation and ensure continued supply of fuel in the country.

Through the report, Chilenga told the House that the committee has recommended upwards fuel adjustments by MERA so that implementation of roads projects through Roads Fund Administration (RFA) and rural areas provision of electricity through Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP) project which are prime beneficiaries to fuel levies are not seriously affected.

“However, the adjustments should be strictly for the purposes of cost recovery, and not for increasing their profits. The committee emphasized on the need for MERA to keep in mind the hardships that the people in the country are facing as a result of calamities that the country has gone through” reads part of the committee’s report to the August House.

The report has revealed that Fuel importers have not remitted to MERA a total of K329.2 billion, while MERA in return has not paid fuel importers their losses amounting to K784.7 billion which includes K380 billion to NOCMA obtained from Trade Development Bank in 2018.

This comes after Consumers Association of Malawi (CAMA) Executive Director John Kapito has been pushing for fuel prices hike amid ailing economy.

Kapito proposal has hit snag from the general public arguing that is ill-timed.