The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) has presented its pre-budget proposals for the 2026–2027 financial year, outlining measures aimed at strengthening private sector growth, improving competitiveness, and building resilience across key industries.
Central to the proposals is a call for greater efficiency in revenue generation. MCCCI has urged government to digitize revenue collection systems to curb leakages, corruption, and manual errors, while also incentivizing business registration to reduce the dominance of the informal sector. The Confederation has further recommended earmarked taxes on motorcycle operators to support the health sector, alongside reforms to restructure state-owned enterprises into profitable models.
In agriculture, MCCCI has emphasized the need to expand irrigated land as a strategy against climate change, promote organic manure to reduce reliance on chemical inputs, and diversify into high-potential crops such as legumes, wheat, fruits, cannabis, and cassava. The Confederation also called for structured markets to support exports of non-traditional crops and urged government to simplify access to incentives for SMEs engaged in agro-processing.
The manufacturing sector features prominently in the proposals, with MCCCI advocating for investment in local pharmaceutical production to reduce reliance on imports and ease foreign exchange pressures. Fertilizer production was highlighted as a priority, given Malawi’s dependence on imports.
The Confederation also proposed reducing excise duty on locally produced fruit wines from 95 percent to 10 percent, revising excise taxes on spirits to curb smuggling, and removing import duties on critical spare parts. Other recommendations include eliminating excise taxes on products such as Maheu and domestic pipes, reviewing sewer charges that burden bottling companies, and extending the ban on scrap metal exports to protect local industries.
In mining, MCCCI has called for the establishment of a private sector–driven Mining Investment Fund to capture royalties, stabilize budgets, and finance infrastructure projects. The fund would also channel resources into downstream processing, skills training, and SME linkages, with governance modeled on international best practices.
Tourism proposals include strengthening the Malawi Tourism Authority, improving air access, reviewing concession agreements under public-private partnerships, and enhancing training institutions such as the Malawi Tourism College.
The Confederation has also urged reforms in the financial sector, recommending preferential corporate tax rates for companies listing on the Malawi Stock Exchange to encourage capital raising. In construction, MCCCI has proposed revising the withholding tax rate for contractors from 10 percent to 4 percent, ensuring timely government payments, and empowering indigenous Malawian-owned firms.
Additional proposals include protecting emerging industries such as local fruit wines through differential tax rates, revising mandatory foreign exchange surrender requirements to ease access for exporters, and reviewing value-added tax on sustainable firewood.
MCCCI stressed that these measures are designed to reduce the cost of doing business, enhance productivity, and secure Malawi’s economic future. As the Confederation noted, “Government and private sector are partners in economic development, neither can succeed without the other.”
