Africa-Press – Malawi. A massive rift has opened between Malawi’s two most powerful financial institutions, leaving the country’s business community in a state of expensive confusion. While the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) continues to project a public image of “stability,” the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has quietly begun charging a “shadow” exchange rate that suggests the Kwacha has already collapsed by nearly 7.5%.
The Numbers Don’t Lie—But Who Is?
For weeks, the RBM has maintained an official middle rate of approximately K1,733.67 per US Dollar. Former Governor Dr. Macdonald Mafuta Mwale had gone on record, dismissing “imminent devaluation fears” as baseless rumors.
Yet, an internal MRA document (Customs List No. 07) dated February 13, 2026, tells a different, far more expensive story. For the purposes of calculating import duties, the MRA is now using a rate of K1,864.8150.
“This is a devaluation in everything but name,” says one Blantyre-based importer who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The RBM tells the world the Kwacha is K1,733, but when my goods arrive at the border, the MRA demands taxes based on K1,864. Where is the extra K131 coming from? It’s a ghost tax on a ghost exchange rate.”
The Cost of Denial
The discrepancy isn’t just a technical glitch; it’s a financial sledgehammer for a nation already struggling with 26% inflation. By allowing the MRA to use a higher rate, the government is effectively collecting a “de facto” devaluation tax without having to admit the currency has weakened.
Institution
USD/MWK Rate
The Narrative
Reserve Bank (RBM)
K1,733.67
“The currency is stable; ignore the rumors.”
Revenue Authority (MRA)
K1,864.81
“Pay your duties at the real market price.”
The Gap
K131.14
The price of government denial.
Analysts suggest the RBM is “hiding under plain covers” to maintain favor with the IMF or to avoid the political fallout of a formal devaluation announcement. However, by staying in denial, they are creating a multi-tier exchange rate system—the very thing the IMF usually demands an end to.
A Predictable Script?
History in Malawi often follows a cynical pattern: the MRA adjusts its customs rate first to “test the waters” and boost revenue, followed weeks later by an RBM “realignment” that brings the official rate in line with the MRA’s reality.
If this pattern holds, a formal devaluation is not a matter of if, but when. In the meantime, the private sector is left to navigate a fractured economy where the left hand (RBM) refuses to acknowledge what the right hand (MRA) is already snatching from their pockets.
The Silent Inflation
As long as the RBM lives in denial, the “Customs Gap” will feed directly into the price of fuel, fertilizer, and basic goods. When an importer pays 7.5% more in duty because of a “customs rate” spike, the consumer pays for it at the grocery store.
The RBM can continue to claim the Kwacha is stable, but as every Malawian knows, the truth isn’t found in a central bank press release—it’s found at the border. And right now, the border says the Kwacha has fallen.
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