By Vincent Gunde
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Forum for National Development (FND) has dared President Lazarus Chakwera to demonstrate true servant leadership by helping Malawians out of the draconian tax regime on second-hand cars.
The FND observes that Malawi does not manufacture motor vehicles saying second-hand cars are the only option that many citizens depend on.
The grouping claims that with the meager salaries that civil servants receive and with this new duty cost, no civil servant will afford to buy a car.
The organization told President Chakwera’s Tonse Alliance government to desist from making policies that encourage corruption and theft of public resources describing the import duty imposed as a very insensitive decision.
In a statement signed by its Chairperson Bright Kampaundi and National Coordinator Fryson Chodzi adds that the decision if not repelled or reviewed is coming to impact badly on the image of President Chakwera.
The FND has called upon Parliament through the Legal Affairs Committee to summon the Minister of Finance Sosten Gwengwe and devise ways that would compel the Government to reduce the import duty for secondhand motor vehicles.
The organization has advised Members of Parliament (MPs) not to fall into the trap of supporting this punitive law just because they have the privilege of two duty-free cars while their relations and the ordinary people they serve are being punished in broad daylight.
“The new tariffs on second-hand motor vehicles are unacceptable, we are calling upon the Minister to order a review and adjust downwards the gazetted tariffs, the Government wants to punish its citizens,’’ reads the statement in part.
But Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Monday, July 3, 2023, justified gazetted duty fees arguing that the move will deter appetite for importation to serve forex.
