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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 28993, member: 2262"] A Malawian minister just stirred up a storm by choosing a fancy hotel over a government boardroom for a press conference, forcing taxpayers to shell out big bucks. Trade Minister Vitumbiko Mumba and Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu are set to hold their briefing at the upscale Capital Hotel, sparking widespread criticism. Social media users are calling Mumba's move totally hypocritical. The government is wrestling with hyperinflation that's drawing uncomfortable comparisons to Zimbabwe and Zambia's economic meltdowns. Mumba recently banned importing basic necessities like rice and toothpicks, claiming these purchases were draining Malawi's already tight foreign exchange reserves. Initially, many Malawians backed the import restrictions. But the minister's hotel press conference has completely flipped public sentiment. People are blasting what they see as a classic bureaucratic move to rack up cushy allowances instead of using free government facilities. One X user pointedly asked why ministers can't just use their ministry boardrooms. Mumba's political positioning looks strategic. He's closely connected to President Lazarus Chakwera's son and appears to be getting groomed as a potential vice-presidential candidate. After losing at the Malawi Congress Party convention, he landed a ministerial role. As a northerner, he might help Chakwera secure critical regional votes. However, recent polls suggest Chakwera could be heading for a massive defeat against Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party. [/QUOTE]

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