Barely months after Malawians voted the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) back into power, the honeymoon is already over — and the anger is spilling onto the streets.
Today, traders and vendors marched against the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) in Blantyre, marking a dramatic backlash against what many describe as harsh and heartless economic policies under the DPP-led government.
And this is not the opposition MCP at work.
It is not politicians.
It is the vendors.
The traders.
The ordinary people.
More than 400 business owners, organised under the Limbe Local Shop Owners Association, converged at Msonkho House, home of the MRA, carrying placards and chanting slogans against the planned introduction of the Electronic Tax Invoicing System (EIS).
The EIS, set to roll out on 1 February 2026, will force businesses to electronically declare goods, operating capital, VAT, income tax and other taxes. It replaces the Electronic Fiscal Devices, which previously focused only on VAT.
For struggling small businesses, the move feels like a death sentence.
“We are already passing through tough times and this system is going to finish our businesses,” said Chisomo Rodgers, the association’s Secretary General. She warned that the system will expose small traders to unbearable tax pressure at a time when sales are low and costs are high.
As Blantyre burned with protest, Mzuzu City vendors also signalled rebellion. They have written to the city’s Chief Executive Officer, officially notifying authorities of planned demonstrations — proof that discontent is spreading fast.
Critics say the protests expose a growing contradiction: the same people who voted the DPP back into power are now being crushed by its economic decisions.
MRA Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, Gray Balawe, acknowledged the demonstrations and said the authority will respond to the concerns raised by business owners “as soon as possible.”
But on the streets, frustration is boiling.
What happened today may be just the beginning — a warning sign for a government still settling into office, now facing resistance not from Parliament, but from the marketplace.
